


Nice to Meet You

by FinnHudsonGlee



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 62,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29184141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnHudsonGlee/pseuds/FinnHudsonGlee
Summary: Miguel Diaz is on 30 day vacation from the U.S Navy. Samantha Larusso, a child psychiatrist, is stuck in Virginia over Christmas due to bad weather. Little did either of them know that it was actually fate bringing the two together. Cobra Kai Alternate Universe. Miguel/Sam love story but contains a lot of Cobra Kai characters.
Relationships: Carmen Diaz/Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso & Samantha LaRusso, Miguel Diaz & Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, Miguel Diaz & Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz/Samantha LaRusso, Miguel Diaz/Tory Nichols, Robby Keene/Samantha LaRusso
Comments: 330
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

"I'm so sorry, dad! My flight was grounded! I don't think I'm going to be home in time!" 26 year old Samantha Larusso said into her phone, as she spoke to her father. It was Christmas Eve, and Sam was planning to spend Christmas with her family in the warmth of Los Angeles. However, instead, she was stuck in Virginia Airport, sheltering from the colossal blizzard outside. Sam lived in New York, and she had planned to fly home to L.A with a layover in Virginia, but her flight had been grounded in Virginia due to weather, and probably wouldn't be taking off anytime soon. Samantha was a child psychiatrist. She loved being around kids, and she had dedicated her life to make the lives of those around her easier. For the first time in her whole life, she wouldn't be spending Christmas with her family, and she was devastated.

"It's okay, Sam." Her father, Daniel Larusso, replied. "Just stay safe and out of the cold, okay? I'll see you soon."

"Bye, dad." Sam said, before hanging up the phone and sighing. She looked around the airport at all of the other disappointed people. None of them would be getting on their flight that night. It was snowing too hard.

Sam decided to leave the airport, rather than sleep the night there. The blizzard could last for several days, if not a week, and there was NO way she was staying in the airport for that long. She made it out the front door, and she was immediately almost thrown backwards by the force of the wind. The wind was howling like a wolf in front of a full moon, and snow attacked her face. Sam ducked her head down and stumbled over to a taxi. The taxi driver smiled at her as she sat inside and threw her handbag beside her.

"Hey, ma'am. Happy Christmas Eve! Where can I take you today?"

"Um… could you please take me to the nearest bar? I need a drink." Sam stated. The driver chuckled and nodded, before starting to drive.

"Rough day?" He asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, like you wouldn't believe." She grumbled.

"Aww, I'm sorry. We all have 'em." The driver replied. A couple of minutes later, he parked the car and turned back to Sam. "Here we are. That'll be 5 bucks ma'am." The driver said.

Sam paid the man, wished him a Merry Christmas and stepped out of the taxi. She then looked up at the bar in front of her. It was called MacLaren's Pub, and it looked like a relatively safe bar. Anyways, it wasn't like she had a choice. With every second she spent outside, she could feel her joints freezing from the cold, so she ran into the warmth of the bar…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A couple of hours later, Miguel Diaz walked into MacLaren's Pub, his favourite bar in Virginia. It was his 26th Christmas Eve of his lifetime, and this one was probably one of the most depressing Christmases he had had in years. Miguel was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, and a highly respected one too. He had enlisted right after high school graduation as his family didn't have enough money for college, and he had flown through the rigorous Navy SEAL training program and had become a SEAL Team 2 member before he had even turned 23. Despite the fact that Miguel had spent nearly 2 and a half years in SEAL training, he had already made a name for himself in the Navy as one of the youngest Chief Petty Officers in the Navy to date. Miguel had been on 4 missions in his career so far: 2 hostage extractions and two capture or kill missions, and in that time, he had proven to be an excellent leader, an extremely mentally and physically strong soldier, not to mention an ace sharpshooter.

However, Miguel didn't let his potential and reputation in the Navy get to his head. He was one of the most down-to-earth people in his SEAL Team, and he worked harder than every single one of them. He was also kind, compassionate and respectful towards others, something a few of some of the neanderthal, big-headed SEALs in his platoon lacked. Most of it was because of how he was raised. For the first 15 years of his life, Miguel was raised by just his mother and his grandmother, and then at the age of 16, Miguel's amazing stepfather - a man named Johnny Lawrence - walked into his life and truly taught Miguel how to be a man.

That week, Miguel had just come back from his latest mission in Al Fallujah, Iraq and he had requested a 30 day vacation. Miguel hadn't taken a single day off in nearly a year and a half, so of course the Navy approved his request. He needed the break, and he was planning on flying back to Reseda, California, where he was raised, to see his family but the weather had quickly put a stop to that. He was okay though. He had an apartment in Virginia as that was where his SEAL team headquarters were when he wasn't on mission, and he would just have to spend Christmas by himself then.

MacLaren's Pub was right underneath Miguel's apartment so he decided to go grab a beer there. He walked into the bar/restaurant and after dumping his coat on the coat rack, he walked over and sat on a high chair at the front of the bar. He then looked down the bar at the only other two people in the bar during the blizzard: a gorgeous young brunette woman who looked about his age, and the bartender who was hitting on her.

Miguel watched, entertained, as the bartender tangled a piece of mistletoe over the girl's head as the girl glared at the man, not scared but just uncomfortable with the attention as she tried to eat her dinner.

"Come on! It's Christmas Eve! There's mistletoe! It's the law! You need to kiss me." The bartender said. Miguel couldn't help but chuckle loudly at the bartender's remark, and both the girl and the bartender turned towards him. Because this was Miguel's favourite bar in the city, he knew the bartender extremely well. His name was Charlie, and although he could be sometimes disrespectful in his conquests with women, he was a nice guy. Charlie glared at Miguel when he saw him laughing.

"Something funny, Diaz?" He snapped. Miguel shrugged.

"Charlie, buddy, you know what I bet this lady wants for Christmas? Some peace and quiet." Miguel remarked. "Me on the other hand… I could use a beer."

Charlie sighed and went to go and fetch Miguel a beer, leaving just Miguel and Samantha at the bar. Sam glanced at him, and she immediately noticed that he was very attractive, but he was extremely understated. He wore unbranded clothes, a baseball cap that covered most of his face, and his posture was hunched forward in a slightly shy way.

"Thanks. Been a lousy day." She said as she cut her steak. "This'll be the first time I haven't been home for Christmas in… well, ever."

Miguel looked at her and he admired how beautiful she was. Her eyes were piercingly blue, her caramel hair gracefully fell down her shoulders, but the most striking thing about her was her smile. Despite the fact that she had just had an awful day, her smile was still radiant, and it brightened the whole empty bar.

"You're still smiling. That's something." Miguel commented.

"So that's my excuse for drinking alone this Christmas. What's yours?" She asked. Miguel chuckled.

"Same as yours actually. I was meant to go home for Christmas for the first time in 3 years but I guess God wasn't having it and decided to ground my flight." Miguel replied.

"I'm so sorry." Sam said, sympathetically. Miguel shrugged.

"Eh. What happens, happens. Besides, I'm not drinking alone now, am I?" Miguel replied, nodding faintly at her. She couldn't help but smile wider at him and laugh.

After ending a 2 year relationship with her ex-boyfriend Robby Keene a couple of months ago, Sam had sworn off guys. She had found out that Robby had cheated on her multiple times, hence the break up, and although she had completely moved on with her life, she didn't want dating to be a priority. Her priority was the kids she worked with in New York as part of her job. They were the most important people in her life, and she was happy with that. She didn't want some guy ruining that happiness. However, there was something about this guy that she couldn't resist. Although his muscles practically rippled through his shirt, that wasn't what Sam was attracted to. Sam always found the most attractive part of a person their eyes as by looking into someone's eyes, you could tell everything about them as a person. This man's eyes were extremely kind, yet soulful. Like he had seen horrific things in his life, but he wasn't letting it affect who he was.

"No, you're not." She replied. "I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Larusso."

"Miguel Diaz." The man said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So where'd you grow up? Where's home for you?" Miguel asked her. Because the two were the only two people in the bar and Charlie had conveniently disappeared, they had the whole bar to themselves.

"Well, I grew up in Encino, in L.A. I lived there for most of my life until I moved to New York for college. I live there now." Sam said. "What about you?"

"Um… I'm Ecuadorian-American so I was born in Ecuador and I spent the first 12 years in my life there. My family and I then moved to a town pretty close to Encino. We moved to Reseda when I was thirteen."

"No way! You lived in Reseda? What school'd you go to?" Sam asked, eagerly.

"West Valley High. You?" Miguel asked.

"I went to West Valley too!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel's eyes widened as he finally remembered Sam.

"Wait… you're that Sam Larusso?" Miguel asked. "I think I remember you."

"Oh, yeah! You're that Miguel Diaz!" Sam said, despite the fact that she had no clue who he was. Miguel laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"You do realise you're not fooling anyone, right? You have no idea who I am." Miguel stated.

"What? No! Of course I do!" Sam said, unconvincingly. Miguel laughed again.

"It's fine. I don't think we exchanged two words the whole time we went to school together." Miguel replied. "You were one of the popular girls I seem to remember, and I… well, I was a straight-up nerd."

Sam raised an eyebrow and tried hard not to stare at Miguel's muscles. It was difficult, given that they took up most of his body.

"You were a nerd?" Sam asked, surprised, as she admired his incredible physique. "Well, I apologise on behalf of all of my old friends for anything we did back then."

Miguel laughed.

"Yeah, no hard feelings. It's only been what? 8 years now? Life's pretty great for me now. After high school, I enlisted in the Navy so I've gotten to see the world."

"You're in the military?" She asked. She wasn't too surprised to be honest. His basic haircut, unbranded clothes, ripped physique… it all screamed military.

"Yes, ma'am." Miguel replied, saluting her playfully.

"Well, thank you for your service." She said.

"And thank you for paying the tax dollars that pays my salary." Miguel replied. "So, excited for Christmas tomorrow?"

Sam laughed mirthlessly.

"Yeah. I'm alone. I've got nowhere to stay. Real fun Christmas." She remarked.

"Well, if you want, you can crash at my place tonight." Miguel offered. "It's right upstairs and it's got a couch."

Sam looked at him, unsure.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be an imposition." Sam said. Miguel shook his head.

"I'm drinking alone, in a bar, on Christmas Eve. I think that says enough about how sad my life is to prove that it's no imposition at all." Miguel remarked, drily. Sam laughed and beamed widely at him.

"Thank you so much." She replied. "You know, this is shaping up to be not as bad a Christmas as I thought."

Miguel smiled faintly and nodded.

"Yeah, not bad at all…"


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show.**

"I want you to know I don't normally go home with guys I've met in bars." Sam said as her and Miguel walked up the stairs and towards Miguel's apartment.

"Oh, good. That makes two of us." Miguel joked. Sam giggled as Miguel unlocked the door and swung open the door. When they walked in, Sam looked around, surprised. The apartment was extremely empty. It was a studio apartment, and other than a small TV, a couch, a kitchen table and a basic kitchen, there wasn't much more than that. There were no photographs, no certificates on the wall other than a small SEAL trident.

"Wow, this is um… sparse." Sam remarked as Miguel took her coat and hung it on the coat rack.

"Yeah, you know, I've only been here for about a year, a year and a half, so…" Miguel replied as he walked over to a cupboard.

Sam then saw a tiny mattress in the corner of the apartment. No sheets, no duvet, just a plain mattress and a pillow. As Miguel made up the couch for her, putting a sheet, blanket and pillow on it, she pointed to his mattress.

"That can't be comfortable for you." Sam remarked. "You ever consider getting an actual bed? It would do wonders for your back."

"Nuh-uh. All the monsters hide under the bed." He joked. "Besides, it's better than a standard issue cot."

"Right. You're a SEAL?" She asked, pointing to the small trident insignia on the wall. Miguel looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." He said, proudly. He never told anyone that he was a SEAL - it would seem like kind of a brag or a flex as many considered SEALs to be some of the most badass men in the world and he didn't want it to come off that way - but if some asked him, he would answer honestly. A common misconception about SEALs was that they had to keep their occupation secret. They didn't, but they weren't about to kiss and tell what they do to everyone around them.

"Wow. That's amazing. I heard it takes a lot of hard work to become a SEAL." Sam remarked. Miguel shook his head.

"Not really. You're a child psychologist, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Sam asked.

"Well you must've spent years and years of your life in college getting an undergrad and a graduate degree. Way longer than the time I spent training to become a SEAL."

"Yeah, but like it must be really physically tiring. It can't be easy." Sam said. Miguel shrugged.

"Eh. You know what they say? If you love what you do, you don't work a day in your life." He stated. Sam was slightly taken aback. Her whole life, whenever she had heard of Navy SEALs, she had always made them out to be guys who trained extremely hard, but then more than reaped the rewards of it when they would brag about it to try and pick up girls. Miguel didn't seem that way though. Being a child psychologist, Sam was excellent at reading people and from Miguel's tone and body language, she could tell that he was proud of being a SEAL, but he wasn't proud because it gave him the opportunity to brag about something. He was proud because being a SEAL was who he was. It was a part of his identity. And he had nothing to prove to anyone.

Sam glanced over at Miguel's shelf in the corner of the living room. On the shelf was the only personal artifacts he had evident in his place: a picture of him and two adults, presumably his parents. Next to the picture, was a tiny Christmas tree - no taller than 1 foot tall - and it was plugged into a socket on the wall but not turned on.

"That is one very, very small tree." Sam remarked as she pointed at it. Miguel chuckled.

"Oh, yeah, they-they gave those to us at work." He replied. Sam walked over to the switch and turned the tree on so it lit up green and red. She smiled widely at him.

"Here. Brightens up the place." She said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, it does." He replied, not looking at the tree, but looking at Sam's radiant expression. Her smile was indescribable. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Sam then walked over to the couch that Miguel had made up for her, and she sat down on it.

"Couch is comfy. It's a little rough around the edges, but… I see some potential." She said, not really talking about the couch but talking about its owner. Miguel understood the double-meaning and he smiled faintly.

"Yeah?" He asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next morning, Sam woke up at around 9 am to an empty apartment. She yawned and slowly opened her eyes and stretched. Despite sleeping on a couch, she had had an absolutely amazing sleep. It took her several moments to remember everything that happened the night before, and she couldn't help but smile when the memories came back to her. She had met the most amazing guy the night before, but wait… where was Miguel? His mattress in the corner of the room was empty and because it was a studio apartment, she knew that he was nowhere in the apartment.

Just as she was starting to get slightly worried, Miguel walked into the apartment, and when he noticed she was awake, he smiled and walked over to her.

"Good morning!" He exclaimed. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." Sam smiled as she rolled off the couch. "Where have you been?"

"Gym." Miguel replied. "I wake up at 4 in the morning and I get my workout done early."

"4?" Sam groaned. "That's crazy!"

"Well, it's not as bad as during SEAL training. Back then, we had to wake up at 3:30." Miguel stated.

"Jesus! You couldn't pay me to wake up before 7! I don't know how you wake up at 4!" Sam exclaimed.

"I mean it's just my normal morning routine. I've been in the military for 8 years. It's become normal for me." Miguel said.

"Well, you do you!" Sam laughed. "Is it okay if I use your shower real quick?"

"Yeah, go ahead. There's a fresh set of towels in the bathroom cupboard." Miguel said. Sam thanked him and walked into the bathroom. She took a quick shower before emerging and walking into the kitchen, where Miguel was sitting at the table. He handed her a cup of coffee, which she accepted gratefully, and she smiled at him. She had smiled A LOT in the past 12 hours. More than she had in the past month.

"Hey, in case I haven't said it yet, thank you so much for having me here last night." Sam said, for possibly the thousandth time.

"You have said it. About a million times already. And it's no problem at all. You were an amazing houseguest." Miguel replied. "Now, I'm starving. Let's go get a bite to eat, huh?"

Sam nodded.

"Sounds great. Where should we go? I'm not from here so I don't know any restaurants in the area." She asked. Miguel smiled.

"I might know a place…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Half an hour later, Sam took their seats in an extremely grubby diner. As someone who grew up in a pretty rich household her whole life, she hadn't really gone to cheap restaurants like these before, and she normally felt a bit uncomfortable in places like these. However, with Miguel, she felt completely safe. He had a presence to him that not only made her feel safe, but he also had a calming aura around him.

"Oh, hey Miguel! Merry Christmas!" The waiter exclaimed as she came over to take their order. Miguel smiled at her.

"Hey, Sally! How's it going?" He asked, cheerfully.

"Well, I'm working on Christmas day. How do you think it's going?" She grumbled. She then noticed Sam for the first time and turned to Miguel. "Wow, Miguel! Nice catch! And here we were thinking you were gay because we NEVER see you with a girlfriend."

Miguel rolled his eyes and turned to Sam.

"Sam, this is a friend of mine, Sally Higgins. Sally, this is Sam. She is not my girlfriend, thank you very much." Miguel stated. Sally nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds about right! She's waaaaaaaay too hot to be your girlfriend. Like waaaaaaaaaaaay..."

"Okay, I get it!" Miguel laughed. "Could we please order now?"

Sally nodded.

"Sure. What would you two like?"

The two ordered food shortly after, and when Sally was gone, Sam turned to Miguel.

"I'm guessing you two know each other pretty well?" She remarked. Miguel chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I've been coming here every day I've been off-duty for nearly 8 years now." Miguel stated. "I know pretty much everyone in this diner."

"What? All 2 other people who are sad enough to be spending Christmas Day in a diner?" She asked. Miguel laughed.

"Damn right." He replied.

"So, Miguel, anyone special in your life? Girlfriend? Wife?" She asked, casually, but intrigued to hear the answer. Miguel laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I wish. When you do what I do for a living, dating is really the last thing in the world you think about." Miguel replied. Sam was happy yet crestfallen at this. On one hand, she was ecstatic that Miguel wasn't seeing anyone, but she was slightly disappointed when he brushed off dating life so quickly.

"What about you? Who's the lucky guy back in the Big Apple?" Miguel asked. Sam chuckled.

"Well, for me, the lucky guy is the takeout menu and the TV. Between my job and hanging with my friends, the time that I get to myself I just want to chill."

"Right. I mean you probably have the only job more stressful than mine… trying to get kids to open up." Miguel joked. Sam giggled and nodded. The two of them had an amazing Christmas day breakfast together (Miguel got an enormous stack of pancakes and Sam got a similar sized portion of Waffles), and at the end of the meal, when the cheque came, Miguel reached for it to pay, but Sam held it back.

"What, do you really think I'm going to let you pay for my meal?" Sam asked. Miguel chuckled.

"Why not? Feminism?" He asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah! Something like that." She responded. Miguel shrugged.

"Well I thought the whole point of feminism was that women were supposed to be able to do whatever they want." Miguel remarked.

"Yeah, it is." Sam said.

"So if I'm offering to pay for your meal, no strings attached, my gender shouldn't matter. Isn't it just the smart thing to do to accept it?" He asked, coolly.

"Well, um…" Sam was speechless. Miguel had a point. He was a lot smarter than he let on. She stammered to form an answer but luckily, her phone rang with her dad calling at that very moment. "Look, as much as I'd like to debate the concept of feminism, because I really never, ever get tired of listening to good-looking, 20 something year old, middle-class guys debating the finer points of intersectional gender theory, my dad's calling me so I need to get this."

"Hey, you're the one who decided to get political." Miguel remarked as Sam stood up and began to walk away to answer the phone. He then realised that she hadn't paid her part of the cheque yet. "Hey, wait, wait, I thought you weren't going to let me buy your meal for you!" He called as she began to walk away. She slowly turned back around and grinned widely at him.

"Did I say that? Yeah, I haven't bought my own meal since I was 16. I consider it reparations for my gender." She laughed, before picking up the phone. "Hey, dad."

"Hey, sweetie!" Daniel exclaimed. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, dad." Sam replied. "How's your morning been?"

"Well, it might be 11 in Virginia but it's only 8 here. We're only just waking up. Your brother wants to open his presents right now so we don't have long to talk!"

Sam laughed. Her brother Anthony was 18 years old but he had grown up into a pretty entitled guy so it was just him to want to open presents immediately, despite the fact that he was legally an adult.

"That sounds about right." She remarked. "So how's everything else?"

"It's pretty good. I managed to book you on a ticket on this afternoon's flight home. It's in 4 hours and it'll have you in L.A by 8 pm."

Sam looked back at Miguel, who was chatting with Sally, and she took a deep breath.

"Actually, dad, you know what? I'm really sorry but I don't think I'm going to come home for Christmas this year." She said.

"You're… you're not?" Daniel stammered.

"Nah, I'm spending it with someone else." Sam said, smiling as she looked at Miguel.

"You got a boyfriend or something?" Daniel asked, getting slightly upset. His baby girl wasn't coming home for Christmas for the first time ever!

"Maybe something." Sam murmured. "Merry Christmas, dad."

Sam hung up her phone and walked back to Miguel. He smiled at her when she sat down.

"Hey! Did your dad manage to get you on a flight?" Miguel asked. Sam shook her head.

"No. Unfortunately, it was fully booked." She lied. "Would it be okay if I stayed with you a little while longer? I know we just met yesterday so feel no pressure to say yes. I'd be happy to book into a hotel for…"

"No!" Miguel exclaimed, a little too quietly. Slightly flustered and blushing, he shook his head. "I mean no, don't book into a hotel. I've got the next 3 weeks off work and you're an awesome guest. I'd love to have you!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 3** _

"So… what are your big Christmas plans for tonight?" Sam asked as the two of them walked around the city that afternoon and just chatted. The two of them learned all about each other's lives. Miguel learned all about how Sam moved away from home for college, and he learned all about her life in Manhattan. Apparently, she lived with a roommate in a small two bedroom place in Brooklyn, and she was working as a psychologist for children under 18 in Manhattan. As a relatively young person, she was able to relate to the kids - especially the teenage girls - extremely well, and she helped teach them how not to make the same mistakes she did back in high school. Sam was also eager to find out about Miguel's life in the Navy. He told her about enlistment and training, and he briefly told her about the missions he had been on, but not much due to classification laws. One thing that Miguel appreciated about Sam was that she didn't ask him the same insensitive questions a lot of clueless civilians asked. Had he ever killed someone? How many people had he killed? Those kinds of questions really triggered most military soldiers and as a psychologist who had gone to school with a lot of military psychologists, Sam knew to steer clear of that line of questioning.

"Nah. Well, there is this one thing I do every year. I don't know if you'd be interested." Miguel stated.

"Oh, yeah? What is it…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Half an hour later, Miguel and Sam got out of a taxi, and as Miguel paid, Sam looked at the destination. It was a hospital. She looked at him, confused, as he walked over to her, and she awaited for an explanation.

"Oh, um… normally on Christmas, wherever I am, I spend it bringing joy to kids who need it. Because I'm home for Christmas, I thought we could go to the paediatric cancer ward and bring some Christmas spirit to the kids there."

Sam was in shock. She couldn't believe what Miguel always spent his Christmas doing. She smiled widely.

"Miguel, that's amazing!" She exclaimed. She then noticed a large duffel bag in Miguel's hands and she looked at it, confused. "What's in the bag?" Sam asked, curiously.

"You'll see in a bit." Miguel replied, and he didn't say anything more. They walked into the hospital reception, and the receptionist smiled at them.

"Ah, Miguel! Welcome back. The kids are going to be so happy to see you again. And I see you brought a friend with you. Right this way guys."

Miguel and Sam were led down the hall, and they stopped in front of a translucent door with a large plaque at the front. PEDIATRIC CANCER WARD - LONG TERM CARE, the sign read. Miguel left his bag just outside the room, and the 2 of them walked in.

As soon as they walked into the room, the kids screamed in excitement.

"Hey everybody!" Miguel said, hugging and high fiving everyone. The kids clearly loved him, and they quickly warmed up to Sam. That was the great thing about young children. They weren't yet scarred with the horrors of the world. Instead, they were kind, innocent and full of love. Sam loved being around young kids for that very reason, and that was why she dedicated her whole life to helping them.

"Are you guys excited for Christmas?" Sam asked them. They all cheered and shouted 'YES!'.

"Well that's good." Miguel said. "Because, you know, I was talking to Santa earlier today, and he told me that you were all so nice this year! And he said that he might even come and visit later today! Do you guys want that!"

"Yes!" They shouted.

"You just have to do one thing though. You have to sing Christmas songs with us. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" They all screamed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Can you do that?"

"YES!" They all cheered, louder this time.

"All right!" Miguel exclaimed. The 2 adults took their seats in the room, next to the children. Miguel and Sam sat next to each other, and two young children immediately crawled into their laps. Miguel instantly recognised one of them - an eight year old boy named Niko, who had been in the ward last year as well.

"Hey Niko. How are you man?"

"I'm good." He said, cheerfully. Miguel smiled. He loved how happy the children were, despite their scary predicaments.

"Have you been good this year?" He asked. Niko nodded.

"I've been very good. I was the star of the week 3 times this year!" He said, proudly.

"3 Times! That's amazing, man. Up top!" Miguel said, and the kid high fived him. Sam smiled as she watched Miguel interact with the kid. It was absolutely adorable.

Sam hooked up the speaker, and played the first Christmas song. It was the ever popular Christmas song: Frosty the Snowman. The whole room, containing the children, Miguel and Sam, and the childrens' parents, sang together as one.

_Frosty the Snowman_

_Was a jolly happy soul_

_With a corncob pipe and a button nose_

_And two eyes made out of coal._

_Frosty the Snowman_

_May the children laugh and play_

_And were they surprised when before their eyes_

_He came to life that day._

_There must have been some magic_

_In that old silk hat they found_

_For when they placed it on his head_

_He began to dance around._

_Oh, Frosty the Snowman_

_Was alive as he could be_

_And the children say_

_He could laugh and play_

_Just the same as you and me._

_Frosty the Snowman_

_Knew the sun was hot that day_

_So he said let's run_

_And we'll have fun._

_Before I melt away._

_So down to the village_

_With a broomstick in his hand_

_Running here and there all around the square_

_Saying catch me if you can._

_He led them down the streets of town_

_Right to the traffic cops_

_And he only paused a moment when_

_He heard him holler stop._

_Frosty the Snowman_

_Had to hurry on_

_But he waved goodbye_

_Saying don't you cry._

_I'll be back again some day_

_Thumpety, thump, thump_

_Thumpety, thump, thump._

_Look at Frosty go_

_Thumpety, thump, thump_

_Thumpety, thump. thump_

_Over the hills of snow._

At the end of the song, the whole room cheered. They proceeded to sing We Wish you a Merry Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town in quick succession, and the kids were having a great time. They absolutely loved the entertainment.

"I'll be right back." Miguel whispered in Sam's ear after the song, and he stood up.

"OK, kids! I've gotta go now. Merry Christmas everybody!" He exclaimed.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" They all shouted, and the kids all gave him a hug. They all absolutely adored him - there was just something about him that made them love him so much. Miguel walked out of the room. He quickly grabbed the duffel bag and ran to the hospital bathroom to change.

Five minutes later, Miguel was fully decked out in a full Santa costume. He was handed the sack of presents by the hospital staff, and he was wearing the costume, complete with the red and white suit, massive belt, extra stomach padding, hat, boots, glasses, and of course… the signature white beard. A minute later, he burst into the pediatric ward.

"HO! HO! HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" He bellowed.

"SANTA!" The kids screamed, sprinting over to hug him. Sam couldn't help but giggle quietly as she watched Miguel making a fool of himself, but at the end of the day, it was for a good cause. Besides, nobody could say that he was a bad Santa: he was actually a really good one!

"Hi kids!" Santa Miguel exclaimed. "Have you all been good this year?" He asked.

"Yes!" The kids screamed. Miguel clapped his hands.

"That's good, because I have presents for all of you! Gather round kids while I give you all your presents. You know, I loved reading all of your letters to me. It helped my little elves make exactly what you wanted for Christmas."

"Yay!" They all shouted. Miguel sat down and each kid sat on his lap, telling him what they wanted for Christmas. Miguel would then grab the gift that was addressed to them, which was actually from the hospital staff or the kid's parents, and he would give it to them. The kids absolutely loved it! After about a half hour of sitting and singing Christmas songs and eating cookies and milk with the kids, Santa Miguel stood up.

"Ok everybody. I've Got to go now! I need to get all the way around the world tonight, and with all of the delicious cookies I ate, it's going to take me a while." He joked, shaking his fake belly. The kids all laughed.

"Bye Santa!" They all shouted and waved. Miguel waved back at them and left the room. He quickly then changed his clothes and walked out of the hospital, and was quickly joined by Sam, who was floating on air after her good deed.

"Miguel, thank you so much. This was really amazing." Sam said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, thanks for coming. It was a lot of fun having someone else there." Miguel replied. "Now, let's get some dinner…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The two of them went to another delicious diner for dinner, to wrap up one of the best Christmases Sam had ever had. It had been a whirlwind of a 24 hours since the two had met in that bar, and they had both had the time of their lives. They felt so comfortable with one another. It was like they had known each other their whole lives, not a single day. After dinner, the two of them left the diner and went for a walk outside as they headed back towards Miguel's apartment. As they walked, Miguel noticed Sam begin to shiver in the aftermath of the blizzard, so he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. As part of SEAL training, Miguel was forced to spend nearly 3 months training in the freezing cold of Alaska, being pushed to hypothermia several times, so he was pretty much immune to the cold.

"Thanks." Sam murmured as she wrapped the coat tightly around herself for warmth.

"No problem." Miguel replied. The two walked together in comfortable silence for several moments, before Sam finally asked the question that was burning on her mind, and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"So, are you ever gonna ask me out or what?" Sam asked. Immediately, awkwardness filled the air and descended over them like a blanket. Miguel blushed furiously and his mouth ran dry. It took him several moments to regain his speech.

"I… um… I… wasn't planning on it actually." Miguel stammered. Sam's heart dropped.

"You… you weren't?" Sam asked, extremely crestfallen. Miguel sighed.

"Look, Sam, you're really awesome. Like really awesome! I don't know if it's because I've only been around soldiers and criminals for a long time but you're like the most amazing person I have met in years. But…"

"Of course there's a but." Sam muttered. "Every guy I've liked, there's been a but. Do I seriously have that bad a but?"

"Trust me, you have a very nice butt, Sam." Miguel joked, earning him a glare from Sam. "But… you don't even live here, and with me getting deployed on missions with just a moment's notice, it would be impossible for us to have a proper relationship."

Sam looked down and nodded. She knew deep-down that he was right. Both of them led such different lives that it would be almost impossible for them to date. The fantasy that she had about the two of them was just that… a fantasy. Eventually, a brilliant idea came to her head, and she looked up and smiled at Miguel.

"I have an idea." She said. "You know the bad part about any breakup is when you just don't see it coming?"

"Sure." Miguel said, confused. Where was Sam heading with this?

"Well, why don't we cut that part out?" Sam stated. "Why don't we spend the next 3 weeks together, but both know that at the end of that time, we go our separate ways?"

Miguel looked at her, unsure.

"I don't really follow." He said.

"Basically, we do boyfriend-girlfriend things for the next 3 weeks, but at the end, we say sayonara and I go back to New York, and you go back to wherever you get deployed." She said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"You're a psychologist. That can't be healthy." He remarked. Sam shrugged.

"What's not healthy about it? We spend 3 amazing weeks together, knowing that things have to come to an end at the end of the 3 weeks, so we both walk away with great memories and no hard feelings. There won't be a messy breakup to put a damper on the time we spent together."

Miguel eventually nodded.

"You know what? What the hell, I'm in!" He replied. Sam broke out into a wide smile.

"Awesome! So, what should we do first?"

"Well, there has been one thing I've wanted to do since we met." Miguel remarked. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, going straight for the home run swing? Bold move." Sam remarked, giggling. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"No, not that. Well, yeah, I would love to do that, but that's not what I meant. I meant this…" He said, before leaning in and kissing her gently. Sam immediately reacted to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening it. The two made out for several moments before they finally had to break apart for air.

"Wow." Sam murmured as she felt her heart bouncing around inside her chest. That kiss had been incredible. There was something about the way their lips came together… it just felt right.

"Wow." Miguel also muttered, in just as much shock as Sam. He was a SEAL - he was meant to never be rendered immobile in shock, but there was something about Sam that made all of his training go flying out the window.

Sam was the first of the two to regain her bearings, and she slipped her hand into his.

"So… home? You know, you might not be sleeping alone on that mattress of yours tonight." She whispered seductively into his ear. That was enough to get Miguel to snap out of his trance, and the two of them practically sprinted back to Miguel's apartment. There was a boisterous car alarm going off right outside but they didn't care. Neither of them were getting any sleep that night anyway…


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 4** _

So that was exactly what they did. For the next couple of weeks, they did exactly what they said. They did everything they wanted to do together. They spent every waking minute together, relishing in the time they had before they knew they had to call it quits. But time was a real bitch, and soon, it was the night before Sam left for New York again. She was staying in a hotel room that the two of them had checked into earlier that week as the small, single mattress just wasn't cutting it for them anymore, and the two of them had agreed to end their relationship there. It was a relatively amicable split as they had both known it was coming, but both of them were still hurting inside. It had been the best 3 weeks of their lives. Being together was like nothing they had ever experienced with any of their exes.

"And that was it." Miguel said, as he finished telling his best friend and fellow SEAL Eli Moskowitz the story of their breakup. The two were in Eli's apartment, and they both sipped their beers as they talked. Although SEALs were forced to always have their brothers' backs in the field, due to all of the time they spent together in training and in missions, they often formed bonds like actual brothers and were there emotionally for each other like brothers. It was hard not to, given that they were constantly risking their lives for each other whenever they were on missions. They might be badass on the outside, but at least some of them at a softer core on the inside. Like a watermelon. Tough skin on the outside. Sweet on the inside.

Eli was Miguel's best friend in the world. The two had known each other for 8 years. They first met when they were in basic training together, and they both rose through the ranks side by side to go to where they were today, although Eli was one rank lower than Miguel.

"Man, I'm sorry. That sucks." Eli said.

"Yeah, I mean we both knew it was coming." Miguel said, taking a sip of beer.

"Look, I understand that you guys had to break up eventually but why today?" Eli asked.

"She's leaving tomorrow." Miguel stated.

"Yeah, but as of right now, she's still in town." Eli shot back. Miguel nodded.

"She is. But like…"

"Yeah! So you spend one more amazing day together!" Eli exclaimed. "Miguel, think about it this way. If you knew that you were going to lose your leg tomorrow, would you sit on the couch and cry about it? Or would you run and jump and do some awesome air kicks while you still can?!"

Miguel eventually nodded and smiled, taking out his phone.

"Awesome air kicks, here I come." He muttered, before dialling Sam's number…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So we can sit around and cry, or we can run and do awesome air kicks before our leg gets chopped off!" Miguel exclaimed, explaining his theory to Sam later that day. He had asked her to meet him at the bar where they first met, and she immediately sprinted over there when she got the call. Like him, she didn't want their relationship to end yet, and she listened eagerly to his idea.

"I've got a few questions." Sam stated once Miguel was done explaining. "First… so we're sharing the leg?"

"The leg's a metaphor." Miguel laughed. But Sam wasn't done yet.

"But how can the leg be well enough to do awesome air kicks one day, and yet still so sick that it needs to be chopped off the ne…"

Miguel cut her off by kissing her, and she instantly reciprocated it. When they pulled away, she sighed.

"I don't know, Miguel." She murmured. That kiss had just reminded her of how much she cared about him, and how much harder it would be for her to go home.

"Come on! We've had a good run! We need to go out in a blaze of glory!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Well, what would you want to do?" Sam asked.

"Well, what did we talk about doing these past few weeks but never get around to doing?"

"Ooh, go to the Shenandoah National Park at sunset." Sam said.

"Drive along the Skyline Drive." Miguel stated.

"See some monkeys at the zoo." Sam added.

"Go to that French-Vietnamese place we keep passing and say we want to try." Miguel added.

"Wow! We better get going!" Sam exclaimed, tugging him out the door.

And that's exactly what they did. The National Park. The Skyline Drive. The Zoo. The restaurant. Well, they did that in their minds. In reality, they just spent the whole day and night having sex in Sam's hotel room.

After their amazing final night together, the next morning, it was finally time for Sam to go. Miguel drove her to the airport that morning. Her flight was taking off from Virginia Airport in 2 hours, and it would have Sam home in New York in a couple of hours.

The two walked into the entrance of the airport together, and Sam turned to Miguel, who had been pretty quiet all morning.

"Well, I'm glad we got to spend the day doing awesome air kicks." Sam said, referring to Miguel's earlier metaphor. Miguel chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I was almost too tired from all the sex." He joked. She giggled and kissed him.

"I'm going to miss you so much." She murmured.

"Yeah, me too." Miguel replied.

"And hey, you know, if I'm ever in town or you're in New York and we're still single…"

"Even if we're not." Miguel joked, trying to undercut some of the awkwardness he was feeling. Sam laughed and nodded. She kissed him one more time before stepping back.

"Goodbye, Miguel." She murmured as she started to walk towards the Airport Check-In Desk.

"Goodbye, Sam." He whispered as he watched her walk out of sight, before leaving the airport…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So yeah. I'll probably never see him again but damn it it was a good 3 weeks." Sam told her childhood best friend and roommate Aisha Robinson the next morning as Sam woke up the next morning in their apartment in New York, still day-dreaming about the blissful 3 weeks she had just spent with the most amazing guy. "Anyways, that was my Christmas. How was yours?"

"It was pretty normal." Aisha replied. "My mom jabbering on and on about me hiring a security guard because she thinks if I live in New York, I'm gonna get mugged. My dad yelling at his TV during Boxing Day NFL action. Definitely not as eventful as yours by the sounds of it. You seem like you're really into this Miguel guy."

"I'm not going to lie. I was. He was really amazing." Sam said.

"Are you in love with him?" Aisha suddenly asked. Sam nearly dropped the box of cereal she was holding when she heard that word. She had never really been in love before. Even during a 2 year relationship with Robby, Sam didn't truly love him. He wasn't the person she wanted to spend her life with. But Miguel… Miguel could be.

"Aisha, we only knew each other for 3 weeks." Sam said.

"That's not an answer." Aisha replied. "Do you love him?"

A crimson flush reddened Sam's cheeks. She couldn't deny it anymore.

"Okay, I might have small feelings for him…" Sam stammered. Aisha's eyes widened when she noticed the unfamiliar, blushing expression on her friend's face.

"Oh, my God! You are so smitten!" Aisha exclaimed.

"Am not!" Sam shot back, unconvincingly.

"Yes, you are!" Aisha said. "Admit it! You love him!"

"Okay! Fine! I love him!" Sam snapped. Aisha's gleeful expression faded when she saw the pain in Sam's eyes. Although it had only been 3 weeks she spent with Miguel, their split had hit her harder than anyone could have expected. She was in a lot more pain than she originally let on. "It doesn't matter anyways. I live here and he lives anywhere in the world on a moment's notice."

"So try long distance." Aisha stated, bluntly. Sam shook her head.

"We briefly talked about that. We both said that long distance is nothing more than a method teenagers use to get laid before college. Long distance doesn't work for anyone."

"Sure. But from the sound of things, Miguel isn't any ordinary guy. And you definitely aren't any ordinary girl. If he cares about you as much as you clearly care about him, the two of you will make it work."

"So what do you want me to do? You want me to fly back to Virginia, knock on his door and tell him how I feel?" Sam snapped, sarcastically. Aisha nodded.

"Well… yeah." Aisha replied. Sam's jaw dropped.

"You really think that would work?" Sam asked, curious and more hopeful now. Aisha shrugged.

"Well, I don't know anything about Miguel so I can't give you a definite answer. But what I do know is that you'll never know if you don't try, and there's only one way to find out…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Miguel viciously threw blow after blow after blow at the punching bag as he worked out in the gym that morning. Boxing was one of his best ways of relieving anger and sadness, and he was feeling both of those things. Why did Sam have to leave so soon? She was the most incredible woman in the world! Miguel hadn't felt that way about anyone before, and having it ripped away from him so quickly felt just cruel.

After spending hours beating the crap out of the punching bag and when his limbs no longer responded to his brain from exhaustion, he went home and took a shower. Just as he turned off the water, he heard footsteps coming from inside his apartment. Miguel's hair stood on his end and his body tensed up in fear. He grabbed the first weapon he could find, wrapped a towel around his waist and tiptoed out of the bathroom. As he turned a corner into the living room, he saw it was just Eli, and he relaxed. Eli chuckled when he saw Miguel.

"Ah! Please don't… plunge me to death." Eli remarked. Miguel looked at his left hand and he realised that the 'weapon' he had taken from the bathroom was just his toilet plunger. He blushed.

"Shut up." Miguel muttered. He quickly ran into the bathroom, changed into some clothes, and walked out to meet his friend. Eli was staring at the back wall of Miguel's apartment when he walked out, because in the center of the wall was a massive hole.

"Jeez, what happened here?" Eli laughed, pointing at the hole in the wall. Miguel scowled.

"I don't know. You know, the wall and I's families are in feuding gangs. The wall killed my father so I needed to get my revenge." Miguel snapped, sarcastically.

"Dude, are you good?" Eli asked, concerned. Miguel sighed.

"Fine." Miguel snapped.

"It's that chick, isn't it?" Eli remarked. "Sam, right? She's the reason you've got your panties in such a twist."

Miguel sighed, his anger dissipating.

"Whatever. I really don't want to talk about it." Miguel muttered. Eli chuckled.

"Wow. I'd LOVE to meet the girl who got Ice Pack to lose his chill." He remarked. Miguel rolled his eyes. Ice Pack was his nickname in his platoon due to his extremely calm, cool composure under fire, but none of that was evident at that moment.

"Look, it's nothing. Okay. Just drop it." Miguel snapped. Eli shook his head.

"No! I'm not dropping it! Because if this chick messes with your head and it causes you fuck up in the field, it's both our asses that are getting blown up." Eli stated. Miguel sighed and nodded. He knew that Eli was right. One mistake in the field could easily cause them to get killed.

"Okay. Fine. What do you want to talk about?" Miguel snapped.

"Well, do you love this chick?" Eli asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I don't know." He murmured. "We only dated for 3 weeks."

"So? It's scientifically proven that chicks know if they love someone within 8 minutes of knowing them. You got 3 weeks with this chick, who seems way out of your league. What does that tell you?" Eli remarked. Miguel looked at him, slightly entertained.

"You do realise that's not true at all, let alone factually proven." Miguel replied.

"You have no proof." Eli grinned. "Anyways, here's what you do. You get your ass onto the next plane to New York. You go talk to her. If she feels like you do, you got yourself a girlfriend. Worse case scenario, if it was just a fling for her, you get some closure AND you get another weekend of great sex."

Miguel rolled his eyes. Eli always gave him the most blunt advice in the world. He didn't sugarcoat for anyone. That was exactly why he was one of Miguel's best friends in the world.

"Think about it. But not too much." Eli said, before walking out of the apartment. Miguel sat on the sofa, his previous anger forgotten, as he thought deeply about what Eli had just told him. Despite everything, Eli was right. He needed to go to New York and see Sam! Even if she didn't want to have a relationship with him, at least he'd get closure and his mind wouldn't be a mess when he was back in the field. Miguel stood up, grabbed a bag, and he headed out the door. However, he didn't make it two feet. In his rush, he didn't notice someone standing in the doorway, and he clattered right into them. As the two stumbled backwards and faced each other. Miguel's eyes widened when he realised who it was… it was none other than Sam!

"Um… Sam… I… Uh… What are you doing here?" Miguel stammered. Sam looked at him and she took a deep breath.

"Miguel, I need to tell you something." She said, holding herself together when in reality, she was a bundle of nerves and her mind was all over the place. "These past 3 weeks we spent together… they were 3 of the best weeks of my life. You're like no one I've ever met before. I know it's really, really soon to be saying this but, I… I think I love you."

There was a short silence as Miguel took in what Sam had just said, but the silence to Sam had lasted an eternity. She was about to turn on her heel and sprint away when she felt Miguel take her hands in his and look into her ocean-blue eyes.

"Well, that's good because I think I love you too." He replied. Sam beamed at him, relieved, and she kissed him passionately.

"I know it never works for anyone, but do you… do you want to try long distance?" Sam asked, nervously.

"Are you sure? Because my job…" Miguel said, unsure. Sam smiled at him her typical infectious smile and Miguel couldn't help but smile faintly back.

"Miguel, trust me, I could get 1 one-line message from you a week, and that would be better for me than going out on a date everyday with another guy." Sam said. Miguel grinned wider now, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"All right, let's do it! We can beat the odds!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Odds, shmodds!" Sam remarked.

"It's gonna work. We're gonna make it work! It'll work!" Miguel stated, kissing her again. "I love you."

"I love you too…"

**Next chapter is the start of a bit more action in the story I promise. So far, things have just been setting the scene, but with Miguel in the military, I can have a lot more action when he gets back from vacation**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 5** _

A couple of incredible days later, Sam left for New York again, and the day after that, Miguel had to go back to work. It had been the best month of his life. Him and Sam were officially dating and had decided to try a long distance relationship. It wouldn't be as bad as they originally thought, as there was no time difference between New York and Virginia, and Miguel had access to a phone to use for Skyping, calling, texting, etc. When it would be difficult, however, would be when Miguel was forced to get deployed or enter the field.

"ALL RIGHT, DIAZ, MOSKOWITZ, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!" The commanding officer of Miguel's platoon barked to his men at the Virginia Naval Base that morning. Although Miguel was the highest ranking enlisted soldier in his platoon and would be on any missions they went on, he was still commanded by specialist SEAL officers, who trained their troops and oversaw missions in the Command Center.

Miguel and Eli walked into one of the many conference rooms on base, and they sat down next to a bunch of officers.

"Okay, gents. Hope you got some rest over your month off, because it's back to business now!" Their commanding officer, Navy Lieutenant Anderson, told them.

"I know Diaz didn't. He was up quite a few nights with his new girlfriend." Eli joked, smirking gleefully. Miguel hit him on the upside of the head, and glared at his friend.

"Sir, permission to shoot Moskowitz for being a pain in my ass?" Miguel asked the Lieutenant. His commanding officer chuckled. Although in training, the officers had to put on an extremely macho, asshole act to test the mental strength of the recruits, as the troops spent more and more time with their commanders on missions, they warmed up to each other.

"Permission denied, Diaz. Just make sure your girlfriend doesn't distract you in the field." Anderson said. Miguel nodded.

"Yes, sir." He nodded. "So, any missions for us yet?"

"As a matter of fact there is one." Anderson said. Miguel raised an eyebrow. That was soon! Normally, after a long vacation, they were given at least a bit of time to get back into the rhythm of things before they were sent out on mission. They normally spent at least a week or so on the target range and at least a week physically training.

"Really? That's… soon." Eli remarked. Anderson nodded.

"Yeah, it is. I know you boys just got back from vacation, but there's nobody else I trust for this mission." He said.

"What is it?" Miguel asked.

"We have intel about a bomb smuggling ring on a ship off the coast of Somalia. Apparently, they are trying to smuggle the bombs from Somalia, across the Arabian Sea and to a Taliban cell in Pakistan. We need to intercept the bombs before they can do that."

"Got it. So what's the plan?" Miguel asked.

"Well, we're tracking the ship's location right now and we were thinking that you guys will be flown in a jet to our closest ship, which is around 5 miles South and is loosely tailing the smuggling ship. When you guys make it onto the Navy warship, you're going to get into a small motorboat and you are going to catch up to the smuggling ship. From there, the mission is yours to play out as the situation reads, with us in your ear of course. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Miguel said. "How many troops do we get for this mission?"

"As many as you need. How many do you need?" Anderson asked. One of the best parts about being as highly respected as Miguel was in his SEAL team was that his commanders listened to his suggestions when it came to missions. After all, he was the highest ranking soldier on the ground in all of his missions.

Miguel thought deeply about the mission and he eventually came up with a decision.

"Well, this mission is all about stealth so I want one small squad. No more than 4 SEALs including me and Moskowitz." Miguel said. The Lieutenant looked at him, unsure.

"Are you sure? Because we can provide you with a lot more manpower. If this turns into a firefight, you might need it." Lieutenant Anderson said. Miguel shook his head.

"No! We need to go about this quietly. If they hear us coming, they might toss the bombs overboard, or worse…" Miguel murmured. Lieutenant Anderson nodded.

"Okay. You fly out in a couple of hours. Get ready. I'll pick two other men from your platoon to come with you. Dismissed."

Miguel and Eli left the room and immediately went into calm hyperdrive preparing for the mission. They went down to the base armory to gear up for the mission. But before Miguel put on the 60 pounds of armor, weaponry and gadgets, he took out his phone and he called Sam. Although in many cases Miguel couldn't tell her where exactly he was going on a mission or what he was doing as it was classified information, they had agreed that whenever Miguel was being deployed, he would call her and let her know.

Miguel groaned as the call was sent to voicemail, and he resorted to sending her a quick voice message to let her know that he was leaving. After that, he went down to the armory and him and the other SEALs were decked out in all of their equipment. As well as carrying their weapons and optics, they were also forced to wear helmets, tactical vests, a waterproof watch, eye gear sunglasses, water sacks on their backs, escape and evasion kits, fighting knives, and lightweight boots. It was practically like having another person permanently strapped to their backs. But they were fine with it. They had trained to carry that amount for years so it was almost second nature for them.

Just as Miguel and Eli were about to walk over to the jetway, where their jet was waiting to fly them to their warship on the Arabian Sea, Miguel took out his phone and saw that he had a video message from Sam. Miguel's eyes widened and he quickly clicked on it. Sam's face immediately filled the screen, and Miguel couldn't help but smile when he saw her. She was wearing pajamas and no makeup in the video, and she still looked drop-dead gorgeous. Miguel could see that she was smiling, but her smile was pretty evidently a mask for the massive worry and fear she was feeling.

"Hey, Miguel. Day one of being back and you're already on mission?!" She said, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm herself so she didn't cry. "I know it's gonna be okay. I haven't been able to talk to you in less than the day and I already miss you so much. I love you and I'm so proud of you. I'm thinking of you always and I will see you soon!"

Sam blew a kiss to the camera and then stopped the video. Miguel smiled as he watched it, but he felt his phone immediately snatched from his hands. Miguel's head shot up and he saw Eli grinning at him and looking at the phone.

"This your girl?" He asked. Miguel nodded and Eli whistled. "Damn! I'd love to break off a piece of that!"

"Watch it. That's my girlfriend!" Miguel growled. Eli rolled his eyes.

"Calm down. I wouldn't want to be that guy and steal your girlfriend." Eli remarked.

"Ha. Like you could." Miguel chuckled. "Now seriously, give me back my phone!"

"Awwww. How sweet! She's worried about you." Eli laughed as he watched the short video. Miguel eventually grabbed his phone back from Eli and glared at him.

"Mate, bad idea to piss me off while I'm holding a gun." Miguel remarked, slapping the M4 that was strapped around his neck. Eli chuckled and the two guys walked over to the hangar, where they saw their Lieutenant, the plane's pilot, and the two other SEALs who were coming on the mission with them. Although Miguel and Eli were experienced soldiers, the two others coming with them were rookies. The two guys had never been on a mission before, and they looked extremely nervous. Not that Miguel and Eli weren't. They were just better at hiding it.

"Diaz, Moskowitz, meet Petty Officers Richards and Neils. Richards, Neils, meet Petty Officer First Class Moskowitz and Chief Petty Officer Diaz. As per Diaz's request, you 4 are the only ones on this mission."

Miguel nodded gratefully at his Lieutenant, who nodded back.

"I will be here, in the Command Center. I'll be in your ears the whole time." Lieutenant Anderson said.

"Oh, goody." Eli remarked quietly to Miguel, who coughed back a laugh. A couple of minutes later, the four SEALs got into the aircraft they would be flying in and they strapped into their seats. The plane was much, much faster than a normal commercial airline, and that meant that the engine was much louder too. They couldn't hear anything but the roar of the engines and afterburners, so they all wore earpieces to communicate.

When they were up in the air and roaring towards Somalia, Miguel gestured for all 4 SEALs to turn on their earpieces. The plane they were in was 3 times faster than a commercial plane, so the flight that would normally take 15 hours would take only around 5. They had nothing better to do in that time than talk.

"Hey, what's up, guys? I'm Miguel Diaz." He said to the two new recruits.

"I'm Eli Moskowitz." Eli said.

"Bryan Richards." One of the other SEALs chimed in.

"Robert Neils." The fourth said. Miguel nodded.

"This your first mission?" Eli asked.

"Yeah." They both replied.

"You nervous?" Miguel asked. They both shook their heads, trying to put on a brave face in front of Miguel and Eli, who looked perfectly at ease. Miguel and Eli both laughed.

"Really? Well that's just not true." Eli remarked. The two SEALs sighed and nodded.

"Okay, yeah, we're pretty nervous." Neils said. Miguel nodded.

"That doesn't go away." Miguel replied. "You just get better at hiding it."

"Really? _You're_ nervous?" Richards asked. Miguel looked at him, confused.

"What's that supposed to mean? Why'd you say 'you' like that?" Miguel asked, furrowing an eyebrow in confusion. Richards and Neils both blushed before answering.

"It's nothing. It's just… we heard a lot about you when we were in BUDs." Neils replied. "Top of your graduating class in BUDs. Silver Star in your first mission. You were kind of a hero to us."

"Ha! Miguel?!" Eli exclaimed, gleefully as Miguel blushed. "You think he's a hero? Here's something you don't know about him. Back when we were in BUDs, he hated waking up early so much that one morning when he was woken up by the Drill Instructor, Miguel didn't want to wake up so much that while half-asleep, he threw his pillow at him!"

"No way!" The two rookies exclaimed.

"Yup! If he hadn't been the top of our class, he would have for sure been kicked out." Eli stated, laughing at the embarrassed expression on Miguel's face.

"Okay, could we not talk about BUDs? The name alone gives me PTSD." Miguel said. Everyone groaned and nodded. BUDs was the SEAL training program, a gruelling 24 week program that weeded out nearly 90% of those who started it. Only the very, very best accomplished BUDs, and Miguel was in fact the highest achiever of his class. That alone proved how accomplished and good he was at his job.

"You and me both." Richards laughed. Miguel chuckled and nodded.

"All right. We got a couple of hours before we arrive. Try and get some sleep." Miguel stated, sitting back into his seat in the jet and closing his eyes. "Lord knows, when we get there, we're gonna need it…"


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 6** _

"Wake up!" Miguel heard the plane's pilot say into the earpiece, and Miguel jolted awake. That was all he took. He was that light of a sleeper. He looked out the window and realised that they had landed on the Navy Warship. He quickly unclicked his seatbelt and shook the other SEALs awake, before the 4 of them got off of the plane together and stepped onto the jetway of the ship. Rubbing sleep from their eyes, the SEALs walked towards the ship captain, who was standing on deck of the massive warship and was waiting for them. This wasn't the first time Miguel had been on a warship. Far from it. He had spent his first 6 months as a seaman before he applied for SEAL qualification.

The captain of the ship nodded at them as they walked over.

"Hey. You must be the SEALs on the mission." He said. Miguel nodded.

"Yes, captain. Have you got our boat ready?" He asked. It was the captain's turn to nod.

"Yeah. We're hooking you gents up with a stealth motorboat so the hostiles don't hear you coming. Got it?"

"Got it." Miguel replied, before the 4 SEALs were led over to the side of the boat, where they saw a small boat - not much bigger than a fishing boat. Without further ado, they clambered onto the boat and set off towards the bomb smuggling boat…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Although the boat they were on now was extremely small, because it was an official military boat, it was extremely technologically advanced. SEALs got all of the newest military technology - another benefit of being the best of the best. As well as the boat's motor being absolutely silent, there was a screen on the front of the boat that presented the location of the hostiles a couple of miles ahead. They were right in the middle of the Arabian Sea so the only thing that could track their location and the location of the enemy boat was a U.S drone that was in the air.

"Okay, men, can you hear me? Over." Captain Anderson's voice rang through all of their earpieces.

"Loud and clear." Miguel replied.

"Okay, good. The boat is now only 600 yards out now. There are 3 heat signatures on the boat, so 3 hostiles, and they're all above board. I'm going to leave how the mission is handled up to Diaz. You don't have too many options. Our recommendation is you four charge full-speed at the boat and spring on them."

"Are you sure, Lieutenant? The second they hear us, they're gonna get rid of the bomb in any way, or shoot at us." Miguel stated as he saw the boat finally come into sight up ahead. He could vaguely see three figures on board but they were too far away.

"Diaz, it's up to you. If you have a better idea…" Captain Anderson said.

"I might." Miguel murmured, before turning to Neils, who was steering the boat. "Cut the engine."

"What?" Neils asked, confused.

"You heard me. Cut the engine. That's an order." Miguel said in a polite but firm tone. Neils obliged and turned off the boat. Miguel then turned to Richards.

"Gimme your gun." Miguel said, pointing to the semi-automatic thermal scoped sniper rifle in Richards' hands. Richards handed it to him. Miguel was in full-focussed SEAL mode now. Nothing could take away from his laser focus as he grabbed the gun and stared down into the scope of his sniper rifle. Because it was a thermal scope, Miguel could see 3 heat signatures - meaning three bodies on board. He could also see a MASSIVE heat signature in the inside storage area of the boat. It was the bomb. He was sure of it! Miguel watched as the three hostiles moved further and further away as Miguel's boat dropped anchor, feeling the waves of the ocean crest and fall and causing him to be extremely unsteady as he tried to aim his gun. It wasn't like he was lying flat on the forest or desert floor. He was on a rocking boat, and he constantly moved up and down a couple of feet. There were three bullets in his semi-automatic gun. Three shots that he needed to bury into 3 skulls. If he missed… well, best not to think about that.

"Miguel, they've gotta be 800 yards out! You're on a fucking boat! There are but 3 shooters in the world who can make that shot and you sure as hell ain't one of them!" Eli exclaimed. Miguel took a deep breath as his finger curled around the trigger.

"Eli… shut up." Miguel murmured. Moments later, with the scope locked on the skull of the first guy, Miguel pulled the trigger.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Miguel shot 3 shots, and all three of them buried into the skulls of the three hostiles, causing them to collapse to the ground, clearly all dead. Miguel slowly sat back and looked up from the scope and at his flabbergasted fellow soldiers.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying, Eli?" Miguel asked his friend, whose jaw was gaping so deeply that it was practically touching the bottom of the boat.

"What the fuck, dude?!" Eli exclaimed. Miguel shrugged.

"Top of SEAL marksmanship training actually means something." Miguel remarked. Eli chuckled.

"I'm also a SEAL sniper. I couldn't have made that shot." Eli stated. Miguel shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm just that good." Miguel remarked, laughing at the astonished expressions on Richards and Neils' faces.

"Okay, don't get so big headed, Diaz." Lieutenant Anderson's voice rang through Miguel's earpiece, causing him to jump. He had been so focussed on his shots that he had forgotten about his boss in his ear. "There's still the bomb on the boat."

"Yes, sir. We're approaching the boat now." Miguel stated, as their boat pulled up beside the enemy one. While Neils stayed on the SEAL boat to steer, Richards, Eli and Miguel climbed onto the enemy boat and looked at their surroundings. Three bodies lay bleeding from massive wounds on their heads, the wooden deck of the boat stained crimson from their bloods. As soon as Miguel and Eli had confirmed that the three hostiles had no pulses, they both turned to Richards.

"Okay, buddy. Get it done." Eli said. Richards looked at him, confused.

"Get what done?" He asked.

"You're the rookie. You're the clean-up crew." Miguel stated. "You gotta throw the bodies overboard and wipe up the deck so there's no sign that we were here."

"Seriously? I have to pick up those dead bodies? That's disgusting!" Richards exclaimed. Eli shrugged.

"Sorry, buddy. You've gotta grow some thicker skin if you want to survive in this business." Eli stated. "Clean this stuff up. That's a direct order."

Richards eventually nodded.

"Yes, sir." He murmured, and he started by throwing all three dead bodies overboard and into the sea. As he did this, Miguel and Eli crept further into the boat, looking for the bomb. They reached a small room at the back of the boat, where they knew the bomb was as they had searched every other nook and cranny of the ship and found nothing. Eli and Miguel looked at each other, nervously. Although there shouldn't be any issues, they were about to be face-to-face with a bomb, and that was nerve-racking in itself.

"Ready?" Miguel murmured. Eli nodded and opened the door. As soon as he did, Miguel's eyes widened and his hair stood up on its end. His heart stopped. Connected to the door was a tripwire and upon opening the door, that tripwire had triggered a 1 minute countdown on the bomb.

"OH SHIT! OH SHIT! OH SHIT!" Eli shouted in fear, as his heart pounded. In 1 minute, that bomb would be blowing up. He was about to turn and run away, but Miguel stopped him as he examined the bomb. Miguel had always been a LOT more intelligent than many of the SEALs, and his mind was particularly great at engineering so he flew through the bomb studying course they had been forced to take during training. That section of training was often not taken seriously, but Miguel had clung onto every word he was taught in case of a situation just like this.

"Eli, don't move!" Miguel stated, quietly but firmly as he turned to his friend. "This bomb is connected to a tripwire. You move the door and the bomb blows up right now."

"What do we do?!" Eli shouted. Miguel looked him right in the eyes when he responded…

"We defuse it…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

45... 44... 42... 41…

"WHAT?!" Eli yelled in panic. "You were taught how to defuse bombs?!"

"Well, in training a while back." Miguel replied.

"You mean 8 years ago?!" Eli asked. "Miguel, this is a terrible idea!"

"You got a better one?!" Miguel snapped back, harshly, and Eli instantly shut up. Miguel sighed. "Look, man. You need to trust me. We've known each other since high school. Sophomore year. Do you trust me?"

Eli eventually nodded and Miguel then turned his attention back to the bomb. His memories from bomb defusal class rang through his mind as he took out his Swiss Army Knife, opened the screwdriver blade, and he unscrewed the front panel of the bomb. He saw a jungle of multicolored wires staring back at him and Miguel, who had a camera on his head that was livestreaming everything back to base, turned on his mic.

"Okay, Lieutenant. Talk me through defusing this." He shouted into the earpiece. His Lieutenant clicked on moments later.

"Okay, Diaz, you should see the red wire attached to the motherboard." Lieutenant Anderson said. Miguel quickly found it and nodded.

"Found it." He said.

"Cut that and the green wire next to it simultaneously." Anderson replied. Miguel wrapped his knife around the thinnest part of both wires and he sliced through them with ease with his razor-sharp knife.

20… 19… 18… 17…

"Okay, Lieutenant what's next?" Miguel asked.

"Well, now that you cut those wires, you should see a panel underneath. Remove that panel and you'll see the power and ground wires for the fuse." Anderson said. Miguel quickly used his screwdriver and did this, as Eli watched, terrified, his hands turning white from the strength he was holding the door with, trying desperately not to move the door and trigger the bomb.

"Got it. What's next?" Miguel shouted.

16... 15… 14… 13…

"You should now see a green wire. Cut that wire!" Anderson shouted, his voice rising with worry as they reached the final 10 seconds.

10… 9… 8… 7…

Miguel's hands fumbled around as he grabbed the green wire. Taking a deep breath and saying a prayer, Miguel cut the green wire and braced for impact…

The impact never came though. The timer on the bomb stopped at 5.73 and didn't move. Miguel and Hawk let out massive sighs of relief and they sat back.

"We're alive." Eli said. "WE'RE ALIVEEEEE!"

"Thank God!" Miguel murmured. Eli grinned widely and the two guys hugged. They had done it. Mission successful…

24 hours later, Miguel, Eli and the other SEALs were back on flat land, in the U.S Naval Base in Djibouti. They had officially been debriefed for their mission, and the best part was that Miguel had actually received two Navy medal for his actions. The first was the Navy Cross - the second highest medal after the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in combat with an enemy force. The second was a marksmanship award for his 3 sniper shots. His reputation in the Navy had expanded a hundredfold for both his sniper rifle shots, as well as his bomb defusal under immense pressure.

But Miguel didn't care about any of those awards. That's not why he did this job, the recognition. He fought for his country to make the world a safer place from enemies home and abroad, and by destroying the bomb, he may well have saved a lot of people.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 7** _

_The show must go on_

_The show must go on, yeah_

_Inside my heart is breaking_

_My makeup may be flaking_

_But my smile, still, stays on_

The next morning, Miguel was going on a jog around the Naval Base in Djibouti. The Queen song 'The Show Must Go On' blared through his earphones at maximum volume. Miguel ran in time to the beat of the song, his legs forced to speed up as the song was a fast one. Around an hour into his run, Miguel slowed to a halt right beside the mess hall as he saw Lieutenant Anderson waving him over. His Lieutenant had landed in Africa the night before and Miguel didn't know that he was there. As Miguel walked over to him, he also noticed a man standing beside him.

"Congratulations on another successful mission, Diaz." Lieutenant Anderson said to Miguel as Miguel saluted him out of respect.

"Thank you, sir." Miguel replied.

"Diaz, I'd like to introduce you to Rear Admiral Jankowski." Lieutenant Anderson said. Miguel's eyes widened when he heard the man's rank. A Real Admiral was 3 ranks above the Lieutenant, so the man was clearly very high-up in the Navy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rear Admiral." Miguel said, saluting him. Jankowski nodded.

"The pleasure's all mine. Your reputation precedes you, Diaz." Jankowski replied.

"I'm flattered, Rear Admiral. Can I help you with something?" Miguel asked, politely.

"Rear Admiral Jankowski is a very prominent figure in the counter-terrorism program we have going on in Afghanistan."

"Wow, that's awesome." Miguel said. "But I'm still slightly unsure about how this involves me."

"Well, Chief Petty Officer Diaz, I'd like you to come aboard with us. A year of you based in Afghanistan, and working from the Kandahar base."

Miguel's jaw dropped. Miguel had been on missions of various lengths all around the world before, but his home base had always been in Virginia. And now he was being asked to move to Afghanistan?! How was he going to explain this to Sam?! SAM! He couldn't do this to her! Dating a SEAL was hard enough, but someone who permanently lived half a world away would be impossible!

Miguel shook his head.

"I really appreciate the offer, sir, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline." Miguel said. "I don't think I could be away from home for a whole year continuously."

"This is because of your new girlfriend, isn't it?" Jancowski asked. "Well, we are prepared to offer you three years of being stationed at home and only travelling for short-term missions if you complete this one year in Afghanistan."

Miguel furrowed his eyebrow in confusion.

"How the hell do you know about my gir… Eli." Miguel growled. He remembered that conversation him and Eli had had right before they deployed to Somalia, and how Eli had mentioned that Miguel had a new girlfriend. That's exactly what the military did. They find things you care about and use them to manipulate you to do their bidding.

"In case you're wondering, Mr. Moskowitz received the same offer last night and he's already accepted it. So, are you in?"

Miguel thought it over for several moments, before reluctantly nodding.

"Okay. I'm in…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sam paced around her apartment nervously three days later. It had been nearly 72 hours and she hadn't heard a thing from Miguel. It was her day off from work, so she had been on her phone all night and all day waiting for a message from Miguel to let her know that he was safe. Although they had only been dating a month, she felt tethered to him in a way she didn't understand. She loved him so much, and that resulted in a LOT of worry.

Aisha and Moon, her two best friends, were sitting on the couch and turned to her.

"Sam, sit down and watch some TV with us!" Moon exclaimed. Sam shook her head.

"Nah, sorry. I'm just…"

"Literally sitting by the phone, waiting for a call for Miguel, which could potentially not be for days." Aisha stated. Sam sighed.

"Look, Sam, it's nice that you're worried about him, but you're not helping anyone by sitting by the phone." Moon said. Moon had grown up and smartened up a lot since high school. Although she wasn't a psychologist like Sam, she used her kindness and excellent people skills to be an amazing public school kindergarten teacher. "Just sit down and watch some TV. When he calls, you'll hear the phone ring."

Sam eventually nodded and sat on the couch next to them. Moon threw her blanket over the both of them.

"So, what are we watching?" Sam asked Moon.

"Stranger Things." Moon replied.

"Yes, you are." Sam remarked. "But seriously, what are we watching?"

"No, the show is called Stranger Things." Aisha laughed. Sam's face made an O in realisation, and she settled deeper into the sofa. The group sat, stuffing their faces with popcorn and watching the suspense show for several hours. Then, at around 2 pm, Sam's phone rang. Because the girls were previously engrossed in the horror show, they all screamed in shock and surprise as the phone rang. Sam's eyes widened when she realised… it could be Miguel! She looked at the Caller I.D and saw that it was in fact Miguel.

"Guys, I gotta take this." Sam said, before running out the room and answering the phone. She was extremely nervous as she clicked accept call on Facetime. For all she knew, Miguel's legs could be blown off. But she relaxed considerably when she saw Miguel smiling at her. She beamed back.

"Hey, Sam." Miguel smiled.

"Miguel! How are you?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Are you in the States?! Is your mission over?!" Sam showered Miguel with a barrage of questions, and Miguel only waited until she stopped talking before answering.

"Um… I'm good. My mission is over. I'm not injured, but really shaken up."

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Sam asked, concerned. Miguel read between the lines and knew what she was asking. She was asking if any of his men died during the mission. Miguel shook his head.

"Nah, everything's okay. I was about 5.73 seconds from having my ass blown sky-high though." Miguel slipped out before he could stop himself. He noticed Sam's eyes widen and her hand clasp over her mouth in horror, and Miguel stammered to correct his mistake. "I'm mean, I'm fine. None of my team got injured so everything's good."

Sam took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew how difficult this relationship would be going in, but hearing first-hand that the person she loved was putting himself in harm's way was a whole new level of hard.

"Well, is there any way you and your ass can make it out to New York anytime soon?" Sam asked hopefully. Miguel's facial expression immediately answered her question and she looked at him, crestfallen. Something was seriously wrong. Miguel looked miserable. "What's wrong?" She asked him. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Well, due to my good service record for the past 8 years, I've been granted three years of being stationed at home and only travelling away for short term missions." Miguel said. Sam's heart soared. Miguel would be home for three years! Her face quickly dropped though. That was great news, but Miguel didn't look happy.

"What's the catch?" She asked, reading his mind. Miguel sighed.

"As you've probably seen in the news, over the decade or so, ever since 9/11, tension has been rising in Afghanistan as terrorist groups have increased."

"Yeah, I know. I just read an article about that in the news. What does that have to do with anything?" Sam asked, her heart pounding.

"Well, right now, I'm in Djibouti Naval Base because it's pretty close to where my latest mission just was. I'm being flown to Kandahar, Afghanistan tomorrow morning for a longer deployment there." Miguel said. Sam slowly started to see where Miguel was going, and her heart raced in fear and anxiety.

"How long are you going to be there for?" She asked.

"Sam, I… um… to earn my three years stateside, they want me stationed there, in Afghanistan, for a year…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"A YEAR?!" Sam cried. "There's gotta be some kind of mistake!"

Miguel shook his head.

"I really wish it was. This is the reason why more than 90% of SEAL marriages end in divorce, let alone unmarried boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. I go where they want me, no questions asked. I completely understand if you want to break up. I mean, I'm not about to ask you to wait a year, having only dated you for a month and a half."

Sam looked at him for several moments. Tears had filled her eyes, but they quickly vanished moments later and were replaced by an expression of deep thought.

"Well, what does this one year deployment entail?" She asked slowly. "Are you being completely frozen out from society? Like do you get a phone, or are you completely isolating?"

"Oh, no, no! I 100% get a phone! I get a couple of days off too just like any other job. The only thing that has changed is that I'm going to be living abroad for a year permanently and I'm going to be at the government's constant beck and call for any missions that come up." Miguel replied. "But Sam, I'm not going to make you wait. We've only been dating for less than two months!"

Sam slowly nodded.

"True. We've only been dating for two months. But the past two months with you has been better than the two year relationship I had with my ex. I never knew how much I could love someone until I met you. Even though we live a world apart, you make me feel so cared for and loved. I'd be really stupid to give all that up."

"Look, Sam, that's really sweet of you to say, but trust me, I've seen how toxic relationships have gotten for the guys around me. It's not as easy as you think."

"Oh, trust me. I don't think it's gonna be easy at all." Sam stated. "I already know I'm going to spend many nights crying into my pillow, cursing God and asking why you aren't there. Going to sleep to an empty bed. Waking up alone. Spending birthdays, Thanksgiving and other holidays alone when everyone I know is spending it with their significant other… it's all gonna suck. But you know what that is?"

"Hell. You're literally describing hell." Miguel remarked. Sam rolled her eyes.

"No, dummy! The fact that despite all of that, I'm always going to care about you just shows how much I love you. This isn't just a two month relationship for me, Miguel. This could be it for me. I want to spend my life with you. I love you more than I could've imagined. I want to have kids with you. Grandkids with you. Grow old with you. And you know the best part?"

"What?" Miguel asked, confused. This was NOT how he was expecting the conversation to go.

"The best part is I'm saying all of this to you and unlike 99% of guys in this world, you haven't freaked out and hung the phone up on me." Sam finished. Miguel chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"No. No, I haven't because I feel the exact same way." Miguel replied. "But I don't want to put you through all the shit that comes with dating someone who's in the military abroad. Like for example, what if the internet cuts off in our military base and doesn't come back on for several weeks? For all you'll know, it could be that my base has been attacked and I'm dead. And having to deal with that for a whole year…"

"Woooooow, Miguel. It's almost like you don't want to date me anymore!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel shook his head.

"Just laying out all the cards on the table." Miguel said. Sam nodded.

"I know. But I still want to be with you. There's practically nothing you could do that would make me not want to be with you."

Miguel still looked slightly unsure. Not that he didn't want to date her. He REALLLLLLLLY did. But seeing every SEAL around him's relationships blow up made him cautious. He didn't want a messy breakup as he didn't want to hurt Sam, and he couldn't afford to get distracted in the field.

"Sam, I've seen like a million of my friends' relationships crash and burn because of the job." Miguel murmured.

"So let's be that one couple that doesn't." She smiled. Miguel couldn't help but smile back.

"All right! If you're sure…" Miguel said.

"We can totally beat the odds!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel nodded.

"Damn right, we can…"

**So basically, the next chapter jumps to a year later. I know that I'm skipping a massive amount of time, but trust me, a lot of what happens in that time comes back as flashbacks later in the story. I don't want to spoil the story so all I can say is that although it looks like a massive time jump (which it is), you won't be completely left in the dark as to what happened in that time.**

**I got a couple of questions asking whether the story is based solely around Miguel, or around both Miguel and Sam. Unlike the other stories I've written, this one, when they are apart, is based around both of their respective perspectives.**

**One more thing, I know the story sounds overly cheerful right now. Trust me, a LOT of drama and action ensues in both Miguel's job, as well as his relationship with Sam**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 8** _

So Miguel began an extremely long deployment in Afghanistan, but he still had a ray of sunshine in his life… Sam. She was an absolutely incredible girlfriend, and they both supported each other throughout the tough times.

One thing that both of them decided to do from the very beginning was as well as calling each other on at least a weekly basis, they also made short video messages to each other. The benefits of this was that every time either of them would feel lonely, or sad, or would start missing the other, they could watch the video and see the other person's smiling face, and things would be less bleak. They didn't talk about their jobs in these videos. They did that during their actual calls. These calls were just pre-recorded messages to raise each other's spirits after hard days. In fact, they started the very day after Miguel arrived in Kandahar…

**Day after arrival (From Miguel to Sam)...**

" _Hey, babe!" Miguel exclaimed, waving at the camera and smiling at her. "I just touched down in Kandahar a couple of hours ago. I'm already ready to go home! Not having a good time at all! But, it could be worse. I figured everything else. I toured the base. Found my barracks. Found the firing target range. So like I said, could be better, could be worse. It could definitely be better because I could be home with you. So, I'll see you soon, babe! I love you, and I miss you already!"_

**Three weeks into Deployment (From Sam to Miguel)...**

" _So, after three weeks of not being together, I'm getting used to sleeping alone again." Sam said._

_It was clearly nighttime in New York, and Sam was sitting out on the terrace, a sky-blue blanket covering her shoulders and the pitch-black, starless New York sky behind her. She had messy hair, and was wearing glasses and no makeup, something she never liked to do but Miguel loved her like this. He knew that many guys lied and said they thought their girlfriends looked more beautiful without makeup but Miguel truly meant it. He hated to see Sam's amazing natural beauty covered up by makeup._

" _And I know that sounds really sad, but it's slowly getting easier." She continued. "I mean it's never gonna be easy but I'm just adjusting. But I miss you, babe! I can't wait to see you! I love you and I miss you so much!"_

**Miguel's birthday (From Sam to Miguel)...**

" _Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!" Sam started recording the video as she sat in her apartment, wishing Miguel a happy birthday. She wished she could be with Miguel on his 27th birthday but unfortunately, he was off saving the world so Sam couldn't do anything more than just send a message and call him later when he had time. "Babe, happy birthday! I love you. I wish you were here and I wish we could celebrate it together but I know you're out there wherever you are right now. So I put together a care package for you. Oh, you're gonna think I'm so weird! I got you a Swear Word Coloring Book, I baked you the chocolate chip cookies I know you love, there are some birthday cake patterned socks, 5 boxes of Sour Patch Kids, just a bunch of treats I know you like. I'm so excited for you to get it because I know it's not like you can throw a party over there, but I love you babe! I hope your birthday is not that bad! I miss you and I can't wait to see you soon! Happy Birthday!"_

**A week after Miguel's birthday (From Miguel to Sam)**

" _Hey babe." Miguel said as he sat down outside his barrack one night around a week after his birthday. "I just got the care package! Thank you so much, it's so AWESOME! Eli threatened to steal the cookies when I'm asleep and if he does, he and I are gonna have some problems! I've been here what feels like pretty much my entire life but it's only been like 3 and a half months so not off to the best start but I'm sure we'll make it through. Anyways, I love you, see you soon. Not soon enough."_

**5 and ¾ months into the deployment (From Miguel to Sam)…**

" _Hey babe!" Miguel exclaimed. He was in a great mood. He was nearly halfway done with his deployment. Halfway on his journey to finally getting back home and seeing Sam again. "Almost halfway done! Can't wait to get home to you! I love you so much. See ya!"_

**Thanksgiving (From Sam to Miguel)...**

" _Hey, Miguel!" Sam smiled at the camera, but the smile did nothing to mask the sadness and loneliness she was feeling inside. "I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty hard around the holidays with everyone being with their significant other and you're not here. I know it's gonna go quick. Everyone's like 'It's gonna be over before you know it!' but IT DOESN'T FRICKIN' FEEL LIKE IT! I'm being so dramatic, I know! It just sucks, that's all. Babe, I love you. I hope they're getting you really fat over there and are giving you a lot of food. I miss you and I hope you have the best day. I can't wait to see you soon!"_

_Sam blew a kiss at the camera and turned it off…_

**Thanksgiving (From Miguel to Sam)...**

" _Happy Thanksgiving, babe!" Miguel said as he recorded himself while walking back from dinner that night. "Don't worry about me, they definitely fed us well. I'm so stuffed I can barely move! Guess I'll catch you next Thanksgiving. I love you so much. I'll see you soon!"_

**11 and a half months into the deployment (From Miguel to Sam)...**

_Miguel slumped to the ground as he sat at the base and recorded the video. He was NOT calling with good news. The opposite. Although he was physically in good health and he hadn't been injured, his mind and well-being had just been delivered a MASSIVE uppercut. The news was awful, and now he had to do the painful job of delivering it to Sam._

" _Hey, babe." Miguel mumbled into his camera. "So, I, um… I just found out that I'm getting extended here for another two weeks because of some big thing that's happening in the embassy. So that just sucks a whole lot. I mean, I'm trying my best to stay positive here but it's like impossible. I guess I'm at least blessed that my role in this event that's happening is basically to be 300 yards away from everything, so I won't be in the line of fire and I'll be safe. But other than that, I think it all pretty much sucks. It's getting really hard. I love you very much and I miss you so much and I'll be home soon. Just not as soon as we originally thought."_

**The next day (From Sam to Miguel)...**

_Sam's heart shattered into a million pieces as she listened to Miguel's message. Tears immediately streamed down her face as she sobbed. She had been clinging to the fact that Miguel was coming home in just two weeks to keep her sanity, and to hear that he was being extended was killing her. She forced herself to turn on her camera immediately. She wanted to record a message at that moment. Although Miguel was an extremely emotionally aware person and he knew everything she was going through, Sam knew that many people in the world didn't realise the hardships not only the soldiers go through, but their significant others go through too._

_"You were due to come home in 12 days." She cried, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "I can't believe they're freezing you over there and they're forcing you to stay for longer! I knew that those cruel dickheads would do that! 12 days... we were almost there! 11 and a half months done! I know they're saying that you're only pushed out for two weeks, but I have a bad feeling that you're going to have to stay for longer."_

_Sam cried some more, using the sleeve of the shirt to attempt to dry the stream of tears that were leaking out of her eyes. She forced herself to continue though._

" _If they try to extend you even longer, I want you to show them this video. People don't see this part, and the sacrifice…" Sam's voice broke again as she trailed off into more sobs. "I miss you so much, babe! I'm staying strong for you. Well… as strong as possible. I love you and I hope that you get to come home soon!"_

**The week before Miguel is due to come home (From Sam to Miguel)...**

_Two out of the final four weeks of Miguel's deployment went by and there were no further talks about Miguel being forced to stay longer. Sam was starting to get more and more hopeful. Maybe she could indeed get her boyfriend home in time for Christmas! It was the end of the first week of December at this point, and as things stood, Miguel was due to come home on December 22nd! Not long to go! They were planning to spend Christmas in L.A as they were planning to finally meet each other's families that holiday. It would be a big step for their relationship. In addition, Miguel hadn't seen his family in person in 4 years and he desperately wanted to see them._

" _Hi, babe! Day 3 of your shitty two week extension. Christmas break has just started. I miss you SO much and I just wish you were here with me. Yeah, I just miss you so much. I love you so much. I swear I've said 'so much' like a million times in this recording but I just love you that much! I miss you! I can't wait to see you! And I hope that you're staying safe out there and I hope you're coming home soon! I love you thiiiiiiiiiis much!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms wide in a cute gesture. "And I will see you… shortly!"_

**Two weeks later…**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Miguel shot out of his bed as his alarm clock rang that morning, exactly one year and 2 weeks after he first arrived in Afghanistan. 42 missions, 2 Silver Stars and 1 Bronze Star later, Miguel had finally completed his year abroad and he was going back home to his country, his family, Sam. Sam… Sam had been absolutely incredible over the past year. Although the year was undoubtedly tough for her and she had let her feelings known to him when she was upset, she had still been an extremely supportive, caring girlfriend. He couldn't wait to see her again! He had dreamed about her every night for a year, and he couldn't believe the day had finally arrived!

Miguel leapt out of his bottom bunk and threw on his jacket, before roughly shaking Eli awake.

"DUDE! DUDE! GET UP! WE'RE GOING HOME!" Miguel exclaimed. Eli was awake shortly after, almost as excited as Miguel about going home. The two, after going for a run and then taking a shower, spent the next couple of hours getting officially signed out of the Kandahar base. They had been exemplary soldiers. Miguel and Eli were Battle Buddies. All that meant was that they were assigned together on every single mission, and if one of them were transferred for whatever reason, the other would have to come too. They were okay with that though. They were best friends, so that made things a lot better. In addition, what Miguel and Eli thrived at most was sniper missions. In every sniper mission, one of them would be the sniper, and the other would be the spotter. The sniper's job would be just to stare down the scope of the gun and shoot. The spotter had the harder job - in charge of finding, watching, and assigning targets, checking the wind and weather and informing the sniper of it, and also watching to see whether the shot hit or missed the target. For this, the spotter was equipped with an insanely powerful telescope. Needless to say, Miguel and Eli made an extremely effective team.

Lieutenant Anderson met the two soldiers at the runway. He wasn't going home yet, but he wanted to say goodbye to his troops. The two had done AMAZING work in Afghanistan. Whether it be taking down opium distributions, eliminating terrorists, rescuing hostages… you name it, they had done it.

"Hey, guys." Anderson said to them, as the two guys threw their duffel bags into the cargo section of the airplane. The two men nodded at their boss.

"Hey. You miss us already?" Eli asked, gleefully. Anderson shook his head.

"You think too much of yourself, Moskowitz." He remarked. "No, I just wanted to thank you guys for the excellent work you have done over the past year."

"I'M NOT STAYING LONGER!" Miguel exclaimed before Anderson could finish his sentence. The Lieutenant chuckled.

"Don't worry. You've more than paid your dues here. I literally just wanted to thank you for your service, and although neither of you are retiring anytime soon, know that if you ever need a reference for any future jobs or even a promotion for this one, I'll write you amazing references."

"Thanks, sir." Miguel said, and both soldiers shook hands with their officer, before getting onto the plane. As the plane took off, Miguel had a massive goofy grin on his face. He was going home! He was seeing Sam again in less than 10 hours…

**I got a couple of questions asking whether the story is based solely around Miguel, or around both Miguel and Sam. Unlike the other stories I've written, this one, when they are apart, is based around both of their respective perspectives.**

**One more thing, I know the story sounds overly cheerful right now. Trust me, a LOT of drama and action ensues in both Miguel's job, as well as his relationship with Sam**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.**

_**CHAPTER 9** _

Sam sat cross-legged on her childhood bedroom floor. Although she was a 27 year old woman, whenever she was home, she always stayed in her childhood bedroom. However, this year, she would be spending only a couple of days with her family as she would be spending most of the holiday with Miguel. They would be spending Christmas Day with their respective families as they hadn't seen their families in ages, but other than that, they wanted to spend all of the spare time they had with each other. Besides, Sam had spent the past two weeks with her family, so she wanted the next two with Miguel.

It was December 21st, the night before Miguel came home, and she was making a sign to hold in the airport. She was debating what message to write on the sign when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Sam called. Her mom and dad walked into the room and Sam smiled at them.

"Hey, Sam." Her father, Daniel, said. "Can we talk to you?"

Sam saw the serious expressions on their faces and nodded.

"Sure, what's up?" Sam asked, confused, following them into the living room. They all sat on the sofa, and her parents looked at her.

"We need to talk about your boyfriend." Her dad said. Daniel had NOT approved of Sam dating a soldier, and Sam knew that. Her eyes narrowed.

"What about him?" Sam asked, her voice struggling to stay calm.

"I know that you're an adult now, and we can't tell you who you can and can't date…" Daniel started.

"You couldn't tell me who to date even when I was a teenager." Sam interrupted glaring at her dad. Her mom sighed.

"We just want you to be careful, sweetie." Amanda said. Sam was confused now.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you seem pretty invested in this relationship with him, huh?" Amanda said. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, of course. We've been dating for a year and 2 months." Sam said. Her parents nodded.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen him for a whole year, right? A lot could have changed in that time." Her dad continued. "Maybe he isn't as invested as you are. As harsh as it might sound, maybe he was just using you as someone to talk to while he was away."

Sam shook her head, furiously.

"No, no. You're wrong! You don't know him! You haven't met him before!" Sam exclaimed. Amanda nodded.

"You're right, we haven't. But we know our daughter. You're such a caring person, Sam, and we don't want your kindness to be taken advantage of like it was with Robby." Amanda replied.

"Well, thank you for your concern but I'm fine." Sam snapped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her parents. She wasn't a kid anymore! She was 27 years old, for God sake! She could handle herself!

"Look, we didn't mean to offend you, Sam. We're just trying to…"

"Look out for me, I know." Sam sighed. "And I appreciate it. But like I said, you guys don't know him."

Her parents nodded.

"Yeah, we'd love to meet him though! Can we meet him?" Amanda asked, smiling at her daughter. Sam shrugged.

"Well, if you guys promise to behave and not interrogate him like a murder suspect, then maybe in a week or so…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next morning, when Sam woke up, she was a bundle of nerves. Although she was extremely excited to see Miguel again, her parents' words rang through her head.

" _Maybe he isn't as invested as you are. Maybe he was just using you as someone to talk to while he was away."_

Could they be right? Could Miguel actually just be using her? Although Sam loved Miguel so much, what if he didn't feel the same?

Sam's mind spun with her all of her insecurities and fears, but she forced herself to push them down. NO! This was Miguel, not some random stranger! She felt emotionally tethered to him in a way she didn't understand. A way that enabled her to know what he was feeling at all times, and she knew that he loved her as much as she loved him.

Sam went downstairs and was about to leave the house to grab a bite to eat before she left for the airport but to her annoyance, the garage didn't want to open. She sighed. She thought today was going to be smooth sailing but she guessed not.

Half an hour later, Sam and her family had managed to get Sam's car out, but the garage was still broken. Sam didn't care though. She quickly drove to Starbucks and ate some lunch, before preparing to set off for the airport.

She was ready to go! She had been a ball of nerves all day. Although her morning with the garage didn't start off great, she didn't let it get her down. She was extremely excited! She was seeing Miguel again soon!

As Sam stood in the airport, her homemade sign in hand, her heart pounded. She watched Miguel's flight go from 'landing' to 'arrived' and her hands started shaking from excitement. Miguel was officially in the country now. There was no way he could be delayed any longer, bar him being detained by Homeland Security. Half an hour later, she saw him…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel was hopping from foot to foot with nervousness as he stepped off the plane. Little did Sam know that Miguel was feeling the exact same fears and insecurities she was. What if Sam had met someone else and didn't care about him anymore? Although Miguel wasn't about to meet someone else while on mission in South Asia, Sam lived in the biggest city by population in America, and there was a good chance she had met someone else. After all, although he had spoken to her on the phone a lot, he knew that Sam probably needed more than that. A physical relationship if nothing else.

As Miguel walked through the airport, he felt himself getting more and more anxious, but as he exited baggage claim and looked up at all of the families awaiting their loved ones, his eyes honed in on one person on the far side of the group and all of his nerves disintegrated… Holding a 'Missed me? Now you gotta kiss me!' sign, waving and grinning widely at him was Sam!

Miguel quickly ran towards her, and Sam threw her arms around him, hugging him excruciatingly tightly. Tears leaked out of both of their eyes as they embraced each other for the first time in over a year. Miguel knew at that moment that Sam wasn't hooking up with someone else. He could see the love in her eyes when they looked at each other. Time stood still as he stood there holding the love of his life in his arms. Even though there were hundreds of people searching for their family member in the arrivals section of the airport, Miguel and Sam held on to one another, locked in an all consuming kiss. When the need for air overcame them, they finally broke apart but Sam kept her arms around his neck and Miguel kept his around her waist.

"I missed you so much." Sam murmured into his ear.

"I missed you too." Miguel whispered. "It's been such a long year!"

"Yeah, for you and me both! I can't believe that you're here," Sam whispered as she wrapped her arms around Miguel again. "I've waited so long just to hold you again."

The two walked out of the airport hand-in-hand and over to Sam's car. Miguel threw his duffel bag in the trunk of the car and shortly after, the two drove out of the airport parking lot together…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As Sam drove, her eyes wandered from the road ahead over to Miguel in the passenger's seat. He didn't look to be injured, but he looked tired more than anything else. Bags drooped under his eyes and his face was etched with lines of exhaustion.

"Are you hungry? We could go somewhere to eat." Sam suggested. Miguel chuckled and smirked at her.

"Or… we could go straight to the hotel room." Miguel winked at her. Sam giggled.

"Are you sure? You're not tired or hungry?" She asked. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, it's been a year. It literally takes just a strong gust of wind to get me to half mast. I vote for the hotel room."

Sam laughed and squeezed his hand. She had missed him so much.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" She replied, before speeding up towards their hotel room…

**I got a couple of questions asking whether the story is based solely around Miguel, or around both Miguel and Sam. Unlike the other stories I've written, this one, when they are apart, is based around both of their respective perspectives.**

**One more thing, I know the story sounds overly cheerful right now. Trust me, a LOT of drama and action ensues in both Miguel's job, as well as his relationship with Sam**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, so me again. I'm sorry, I'm sure you guys are sick of all of these polls so I promise this is the last one.**

**I know I already started writing another story called Nice to Meet You (If you haven't read it yet, the first 9 chapters are out so give it a read), but to be honest, I don't know if I'm enjoying it that much. I have some BIG drama and action ideas in future chapters, but I've had to start the story pretty slow and it's kinda slowed down my interest.**

**I wanted your opinion. I have another story option written below. Which would you prefer?**

**1) Option A… I continue with my current story (Nice to Meet You)**

**2) Option B… This other story idea is a Miguel/Tory story that basically replaces Season 1 but includes Tory and all of the other characters who are introduced later in the show. This is the synopsis…**

Johnny Lawrence is an ex-professional fighter who lost everything due to bad gambling and alcohol decisions and moved back to Reseda. Miguel Diaz is a teenager who has also lost everything. His parents passed away when he was 8 years old, and he was dumped in the foster care system ever since. After a LOT of rough situations, by the time he is 16 years old, he has pretty much given up on life. He doesn't give a crap about anything. One night, right after Johnny Lawrence has been fired from his job as a handyman, he goes down to the mini mart where he sees four teeangers pushing around another teen. Johnny is about to intervene when suddenly, something in the lone teenager snaps and the kid (Miguel) beats up the four guys. That's when Johnny realises… this could be his way out of his slump! If he managed to convince the mysterious teenager to trust him, both of them could pull their lives out of the gutter together. And to do that, Johnny needed to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo…

**So which should I do? Option A or Option B? Continue with the current story or put it on hiatus and start this new one?**


	11. Chapter 11

A couple of hours later, Sam and Miguel finally got out of the bed in their hotel room, put on some clothes, and went for a walk. They hadn't done much talking in the past couple of hours (they had been a bit… preoccupied), so now they decided to catch up.

Miguel and Sam's stomachs both growled as they walked, and Miguel checked his watch. His eyes widened when he realised that it was already 8 pm. He turned to her.

"You hungry?" He asked.

"Starving." Sam replied. "Let's go get some dinner."

"Sure. Where?" Miguel asked. "I haven't been back here in years."

"Well, I can get us a reservation at the club because my mom and dad are members. We'd have to go back to the hotel and change though. It's pretty formal. I don't think they let in people dressed in a hoodie and jeans." Sam remarked, pointing to Miguel's camo colored hoodie and faded jeans. Miguel suddenly had an idea.

"You know what? I just remembered somewhere we can go. It's the best restaurant in the city, it has no line, and you can wear whatever you want."

Sam smiled and nodded.

"Lead the way…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Okay. You're right. Best restaurant in the city." Sam laughed, as Sam and Miguel clinked their 7Up bottles together. Miguel had quickly sped through the drive thru line at McDonalds, and had driven them up to Griffith Park and the two of them sat on a bench next to each other, watching the sun slowly start to set. The orange gold stretched far and wide, the colour of fire hearths and tangerines. It was but the reflection of the dawn, the promise of the rising sun that came after the velvety night had had its say and the land had rested once more.

"See! Nothing beats the Golden Arches!" Miguel stated, triumphantly. "It's the best food in the world. That's why before I met you, when I was on vacation, I ate McDonalds every day for a month."

"Oh, God! You're gonna die of diabetes!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel shrugged and patted his stomach.

"Eh. At least if I die, I'll die doing what I love most: eating fatty, greasy food." Miguel replied. Sam giggled and rested her head on Miguel's shoulder. Miguel wrapped an arm around her and the two of them sat there in comfortable silence for a long while. Their relationship had been over the phone for so long that both of them felt ecstatic to just be holding each other again, huddling for warmth and relishing in the physical contact they had rather than staring at each other through a phone screen. Eventually, after the sun had completely set and stars littered the night sky, Sam looked up at Miguel.

"So, what happens now? With your job and everything?" She asked. Miguel smiled faintly.

"Well, I served my contract in Afghanistan and I met their demands. As a result, they're letting me serve out the rest of my enlistment being based out of a military base in Virginia. My home base will be in Virginia so I won't have to live on base or live abroad. I can live at home, and just go to work like a normal person."

"Until you have to go on dangerous missions." Sam said, glumly. Miguel nodded. He knew that Sam hated him risking his life time and time again on missions, but she knew there was nothing she could do to talk him out of it. Being a SEAL was who he was, and if she asked him to change too many things about him, he wouldn't be the man she fell in love with.

"Yeah." Miguel murmured, noticing the frown on her face. "But, hey, the missions wouldn't be that long! I'd still have time to come out to New York and see you!"

Sam nodded but didn't smile. She had a secret. Something she needed to tell Miguel as soon as possible. Something that could possibly end their relationship…

**1 month ago…**

_KNOCK! KNOCK KNOCK!_

" _Come in!" Sam's boss called, and Sam stepped into his office one night. It was the week after Thanksgiving, and Sam had just come back from L.A, where she had spent the holiday with her family._

" _Hey Mr. Strowbridge. You wanted to see me?" Sam asked. Her boss, the owner of the child psychology clinic she worked at, had left her a message that morning to come and meet him when she arrived in the city, and she had just seen the message._

" _Ahh, yes. Sam, come on in. Take a seat." Strowbridge said, gesturing to the seat opposite him. Sam sat down and her elderly boss smiled at her. Sam wasn't smiling though. She was extremely nervous. Her boss had asked her to meet at 5 o'clock, which around the office was known as 'fire o'clock.'_

_Strowbridge noticed her expression and chuckled._

" _Relax, Sam. You're not getting fired." Strowbridge remarked. Sam laughed, nodded and relaxed considerably._

_"Oh okay. So why did you ask me here?" Sam asked._

_"Well, you know how we're starting a new clinic in San Diego? Well, I want you to head the project." Strowbridge stated, blunty. Sam's jaw dropped._

_"Um… what?" Sam stammered._

" _You heard me." Strowbridge replied. "You're my best psychologist here. I need someone like you, someone I trust, on the West Coast, leading the project. So, what do you say? Yes or no?"_

_Sam's mind was whirring rapidly as she struggled to take in what her boss was offering. He was offering her her dream job! Normally, Sam would leap at an opportunity like this, but this time, she hesitated. She had people she cared about who lived, or rather would soon be living, on the East Coast, and moving West would mean that she'd never get to see them._

" _Mr. Strowbridge. I'm really flattered. I need some time though to think about it." Sam said, finally getting over her shock and managing to speak again. Mr. Strowbridge raised an eyebrow._

_"What's there to think about?!" Strowbridge exclaimed. "Triple the pay, you can hire whoever you want. And your family lives on the West Coast, right, so you can be closer to them. What's the holdup?"_

_"Well, you're… you're asking me to uproot my life and move! That's a huge decision! I have people I care about here! Friends! A boyfriend!"_

_Mr. Strowbridge nodded. He understood immediately what Sam's hesitation was about. Sam talked about her boyfriend a LOT, and he realised her fears of moving away was primarily due to him._

" _It's about him, isn't it? Why are you reluctant to take the job." Strowbridge remarked. Sam didn't reply, but her facial expression told him enough. "Well, you could always hire him and he could come with you. Like I said, your whole team is entirely up to you."_

_Sam chuckled._

_"Thank you so much, Mr. Strowbridge. That's really sweet but my boyfriend isn't a psychologist. He's in the military." She said, proudly. Strowbridge shrugged._

_"So then hire him as a security guard. Whatever I can offer him will be surely more money than shitty military pay anyway." Strowbridge stated. Sam shook her head._

_"He doesn't do that job for the money. He does it for the pride of serving the country, and I don't think he would appreciate the demotion, even if it does earn him more money. I'm sorry, Mr. Strowbridge but I can't take the job." Sam replied, her heart pounding. Strowbridge nodded.  
_

" _I understand. But can I just give you some advice, as a fellow psychologist who is pretty old and has seen or heard it all during his life?" Strowbridge asked. Sam nodded._

_"Please." She said._

_"Well, I'm guessing that if your boyfriend is in the military, you guys are in a long distance relationship?" Strowbridge said. "Well, you're young. You're living in the best city in the world and yet, you're spending your time in a relationship with your mobile phone. That's a massive sacrifice you've made for your relationship. Shouldn't he be willing to make sacrifices for your relationship too?"_

_"I appreciate the advice, Mr. Strowbridge, but I don't think relationships should be like that. An eye for an eye. Yeah people should make sacrifices in their relationships but they shouldn't keep score. Just because I made a sacrifice, doesn't mean he has to too."_

_"Sure, I agree with the not keeping score part, but you need to realise that you can't always put others first. At some point, you have to think about what's best for you. Put yourself first for a change. And if your boyfriend cares about you as much as you clearly care about him, you guys will make it work."_

_Sam took in what Mr. Strowbridge was saying and slowly nodded. He was right! Why should she be the only one to make sacrifices in their relationship? Sure Miguel's job was important, but so was hers! She was currently being offered her dream job and was leaning towards no? NO! She couldn't do that! 2-years-ago-Sam would have died for this opportunity. She couldn't just refuse it! If Miguel truly wanted to be with her, he could make a sacrifice of his own!_

_"You know what, Mr. Strowbridge? You're right!" Sam said. "I'll take the job…"_


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, on Christmas Eve morning, for the first time in nearly 5 years, Miguel pulled into his family's old compound. It had been waaaaay too long since the last time he had seen his mom, Carmen, and his stepfather Johnny. It wasn't that he had a bad relationship with his family; he loved his family a lot. It was just with being deployed all over the world for the past little while, Miguel just hadn't gotten the chance to get home and see them. Unfortunately, Miguel's grandmother had passed away the year after he left for basic training so she wouldn't be there.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Miguel knocked on the door of his old house. Moments later, a sleepy looking Johnny opened the door, but the blonde man's eyes widened and he snapped awake when he saw the grinning adult standing opposite him. Miguel hadn't told them he was coming for Christmas, so Johnny was astonished to see his stepson.

"Hey, Johnny. Long time." Miguel remarked. Johnny dropped the mug of coffee he was holding, and it hit the ground with a SMASH! Johnny didn't care though. His face broke out into a huge smile and he embraced his stepson.

"Oh, my God, Miguel! What are you doing here?!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Well, I'm here for Christmas. Senior Citizens like you still celebrate Christmas, right?" Miguel remarked.

"Hey, I'm 62! Not a senior citizen yet!" Johnny snapped, indignantly. Suddenly, the door to the bedroom swung open and Carmen walked out.

"MIGUEL!" She screamed in delight when she saw her son, and she sprinted over to him, throwing her arms around her son and practically choking him in a hug.

"Hey, mom." Miguel smiled, returning the hug.

"Oh, my God! You're so grown up!" Carmen exclaimed, looking at her son for the first time in 5 years. Although they had spoken on the phone on occasion, this was the first time she had actually seen him in person in such a long time. Carmen and Johnny pulled Miguel into the house and the three of them caught up…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So whereabouts have you been these days? You haven't been the easiest person to contact recently." Carmen asked. The three sat around in the living room, sipping cups of Eggnog. The Christmas tree stood behind Miguel, containing ornaments that Carmen had collected all throughout Miguel's childhood.

"Well, the past year, I've been in Afghanistan. But before that, there was Djibouti, Iraq, Somalia, Bahrain, Japan, Pakistan and my favourite… Brazil." Miguel replied. Johnny whistled.

"Wow. You really did what you said. You joined the Navy and saw the world, huh?" Johnny remarked. Miguel nodded.

"Yup. And 1 Navy Cross, 3 Silver Stars and 2 Bronze Stars later, I'm finally back home." Miguel replied. Carmen's eyes widened.

"You got all of those awards?!" She exclaimed. Miguel nodded. "Miguel, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, mom." Miguel replied.

"Yeah, that's really incredible, Miguel!" Johnny added. Miguel nodded in thanks. "So why are you home now, Miguel? What's changed? Not that I'm complaining!"

"Well… my girlfriend lives here." Miguel replied. As he said the word 'girlfriend', a smile creeped onto his face. Carmen squealed in delight and clapped her hands together.

"Ooh, you have a girlfriend?! What's her name? How long have you been dating?" Carmen hit Miguel with a barrage of questions. Miguel hadn't had a serious girlfriend in… well, ever. His last girlfriends had been in high school, and they weren't serious girlfriends. But from the look on Miguel's face when he merely mentioned her… this girl was really something.

"Um… her name's Sam. I don't know how long we've been dating to be honest. We met like a year and two months ago, and we kept up a long distance relationship for the past year I've been in Afghanistan."

"She kept up a long distance relationship with you for a year?!" Johnny exclaimed. "No way! If you asked me to be in a long distance relationship with you for a year, I'd either dump you on the spot or I'd say yes, but then I'd be out on the street selling sex for a nickel!"

"Gee, thanks man! That makes me feel great!" Miguel snapped sarcastically. "Well then, it's a good thing you and I aren't dating, huh Johnny?"

"So, can we meet her?" Carmen asked again, eagerly.

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm going over to meet her parents sometime next week, and we planned for her to come over here sometime too, if that's okay with you guys."

"Yeah, we'd love to meet her!" Carmen exclaimed. "So, do you think you two are going to go all the way?"

Miguel choked on his drink as he misinterpreted his mom's question.

"Well, um… mom, I mean I'm a 27 year old man." Miguel stammered. "I'm not a teenager anymore. What my girlfriend and I choose to do in the bedroom is between me and her. I am more than capable of handling any conseque…"

"She means do you think you two are gonna get married?!" Johnny interrupted. Miguel's eyes widened in realisation and he blushed, embarrassed, as Johnny laughed hysterically at him.

"Well, I don't know. I mean I'd love to, but I've learned anything, it's that life doesn't always pan out the way you expect, especially in my job. I'm just enjoying it day by day."

"That's a great way to look at life." Carmen remarked, ignoring Miguel's mess-up. "So what does she do for a living?"

"She's a child psychologist." Miguel replied. "She actually grew up here in California. In Encino."

Johnny whistled. Everyone knew the Encino people were the richer people in L.A.

"Miguel's a bit of a gold digger, huh?" Johnny grinned. Miguel glared at him.

"I'm not even gonna dignify that with an answer." Miguel replied. "Anyways, yeah her parents own some big car dealership down here. Larusso Auto."

Johnny's smile instantly dropped. A massive scowl filled his face.

"Larusso Auto? Are you dating Daniel Larusso's daughter?!" Johnny shouted. Carmen and Miguel raised eyebrows at Johnny's sudden change of tone.

"Um… I mean her parents' names are Daniel and Amanda so I guess so?" Miguel replied. "Why? What's your beef with her dad?"

"You break up with her. You break up with her NOW!" Johnny yelled. Miguel was even more confused now.

"What? No! Johnny! No! I'm not gonna dump her! Why do you hate her dad so much?" Miguel asked, even more curious now. Johnny took a deep breath and sighed, taking a sip of his drink before standing up.

"Miguel, let's go for a drive." Johnny said. "I want to tell you a story…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"It was the summer of '82." Johnny began as him and Miguel hit the road. "Rocky III" had just come out. My buddy Dutch was a huge Mr. T fan, so we went to the local theater to check it out. Sitting in front of us was this group of cute chicks, eating popcorn. Dutch started throwing Milk Duds at them."

"What? Why would he do that?" Miguel asked, confused.

"Because it's an alpha move, man. Babes love when you treat them like crap." Johnny stated. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Well that's just not true." Miguel remarked. Johnny scoffed and shrugged.

"Trust me, it is. Tried and true. Just like the cavemen did it." Johnny replied. "You know back then, hunters would insult and put down all of the gatherers in a way of getting into their jungle skirts."

Miguel chuckled at Johnny's absurd fake-history lesson.

"Well, as much as I highly doubt that's true, is there a point to this story?" He asked. Johnny nodded and continued.

"Anyway, eventually, the girls got so pissed off, one of them stood up and started yelling at us. That's when I saw her for the first time."

"Saw who?" Miguel asked.

"Ali." Johnny replied. "She dumped popcorn all over Dutch, got butter all over him. I could tell right away, man, this chick was a firecracker."

"So did you ask her out?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, I hit on her a few times till she gave me a chance." Johnny said. "We went to Golf N' Stuff for our first date. Kissed on the Ferris wheel. Dated for two years. We were madly in love."

"Watch it, man. You're married to my mom." Miguel snapped. "So then what happened?"

"Summer before my senior year, we got into a fight. I figured we'd work things out eventually. Then Daniel LaRusso came to town. Next thing I know, he's hitting on her. I see the two of them flirting with each other."

"What'd you do?"

"Well, I walked over to have a civil conversation with Ali but LaRusso kept butting in. I told him to get lost, mind his own business. Then out of nowhere, the guy sucker punches me.

"What an asshole." Miguel remarked, mainly for Johnny's benefit. He wasn't a naive teenager. He knew that there were two sides to every story and Johnny was clearly only telling his side of the story.

"I know, man. So I did what any dude would do, I defended myself. You know, I figured that was that. But LaRusso wouldn't leave it alone.

"A couple of months later, at the Halloween dance, I was sitting there, minding my own business, he douses me with a water hose. I hadn't seen the guy in months. Frickin' turns a water hose on my head! So I chase him down, try to put an end to things that night, right? Turns out the guy's got a karate master of his own. Guy comes out of nowhere, jumps us, assaults me and my 4 friends. I think my buddy Tommy got brain damage 'cause of that fight."

"So let me get this straight… you tried to fight Daniel Larusso 5 on 1, and you're bitter that he got ONE more person to help him? Sounds like a 'you' problem and not a 'him' problem." Miguel stated. Johnny scowled.

"There's more. Eventually, we decided to work things out at the All Valley Karate Tournament." Johnny remarked. Miguel raised a hand.

"Hold up. Hate to interrupt you again but you chose to use _karate_ to solve your issues?! Well that's just a recipe for disaster. Why didn't you just sort out your issues with words?"

"Okay, NERD." Johnny chuckled. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"I think you're forgetting this 'nerd' kicks ass for a living, and is damn good at it." Miguel warned him. Johnny laughed.

"So anyway, we both made it to the finals. It was 2-2 and…" Johnny's voice trailed off at the end, and Miguel looked at him expectantly.

"What... what happened? Who won?" He asked.

"LaRusso won, I lost. But what's worse is that I lost Ali." Johnny finished. Miguel sighed and looked at him.

"Okay, Johnny, as much as I appreciate you looking out for me, can I tell you what that story sounds like to me?" Miguel asked. "It sounds like a 62 year old man still bitter about a petty rivalry from 45 years ago, a rivalry that could've been sorted out back then if you hadn't resorted to dumb methods like Karate and actually talked through your problems."

Johnny sighed.

"Look, you're a grown-ass man. I can't tell you who you can and can't date. But you're still my son and I don't want you to get hurt. I told you this story 'cause you gotta watch out for the Larussos. They are the slimiest, most manipulative family in America. You might not expect it. You might not know when it's coming, or how it's coming, but you can bet every dollar in your bank account that they do whatever it takes to make them and only them happy, no matter how many people they hurt in the process…"


	13. Chapter 13

Sam walked downstairs into the kitchen of her house at around midday. She had been in conferences to finalise her move to California all morning, a move she hadn't yet told Miguel about yet. Every second she spent negotiating and signing her contract, she could feel a metal grip squeezing tighter and tighter around her chest. She felt so guilty. She knew Miguel was going to flip when she told him about it, and if she wanted any chance of Miguel not breaking up with her on the spot, she needed to tell him really soon.

As Sam walked into the kitchen, her parents, who were sitting in the living room, stood up and walked over to her.

"Hey. Can I help you?" Sam asked them as Sam prepared herself a bite to eat. Her parents looked at each other and then looked at her.

"Yeah, um… we were wondering if you'd be willing to invite Miguel over tonight for dinner." Daniel suggested. Sam choked on the sip of water she had just drank, and she coughed several times before she was finally able to speak again. She quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped the water off her chin that had nearly shot out her mouth.

"D-d-dinner?" Sam stammered. Her parents nodded.

"Yeah, I mean you were planning to introduce us to him at some point this holiday anyways, right?" Amanda remarked. Sam nodded. She was, but she wanted to hold out until after she told Miguel about her move as there was always a chance he would dump her on the spot and meeting her parents would be unnecessary.

"I, um…" Sam struggled to formulate a response.

"You've told us a fair bit about him and we'd love to learn more about him." Daniel continued. Sam's mouth made an 'O' in realisation.

"So this is going to be an interrogation dinner, is that right?" Sam remarked, seeing her dad's true motivation. Daniel sighed

"Think of it as a…" Daniel began, trying to think of another way to phrase it. When he couldn't, he sighed and relented. "Okay, well an interrogation dinner." He finally admitted. "We just want to get to know him a little better, that's all."

"We promise that we won't make him feel uncomfortable." Amanda added, giving her husband a warning look.

Sam eyed her parents for a second. "I mean you're only giving him a couple of hours notice so that's not great. I'll ask him." She finally said. "But I'm not promising anything..."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel tried desperately to ignore Johnny's warnings, but the paranoia built up inside him. Clearly Johnny knew Sam's family very well, a lot better than Miguel did. Johnny could be right about everything. If Sam and him ever got into a rough patch, would Sam stick around or would she just leave as fast as Johnny said?

Miguel's thoughts were interrupted when he got a text from Sam. He read the message…

**Hey babe. Could we please meet at our bench at Griffith Park now? We need to talk.**

Miguel's eyes widened. That message looked ominous, to say the least. What was this about? Miguel pocketed his phone and quickly got in his car, driving to the spot where they had gone almost every evening so far during the holiday. Sam parked at the spot a couple of minutes later, and Miguel stood up and smiled at her as she walked over to him.

"Hey, babe." She said, kissing Miguel. Miguel reluctantly returned the kiss, but Sam could sense his tension and nervousness.

"Hey. What's going on? What did I do? What did you do?" Miguel stammered nervously. Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"What's wrong? Nobody texts 'we need to talk' and then it is something good." Miguel stated. When Sam realised what Miguel was thinking, she laughed right in his face and kissed him again.

"Relax, babe. It's nothing bad." She giggled. She started to get a bit nervous herself now. "I need to ask you something, but you can say no at any time." Sam took a deep breath before she continued. "My parents wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight. You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want to put you in a situation that would make you feel…"

Sam was cut off when Miguel leaned in and kissed her. She was a little surprised, but she quickly recovered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Miguel broke the kiss, much to Sam's dismay.

"I would love to have dinner with you and your parents sometime." He said with a smile. He was relieved more than anything else. He thought Sam was trying to break up with him, or tell him she was cheating or something.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"You seem more nervous about this than I do." Miguel pointed out, laughing.

"I just don't want you to feel pressured into doing this. Like I said, I would totally understand if…"

She was silenced again when Miguel kissed her. He immediately pulled her lower lip into his mouth and caressed it with his tongue. This caused her to moan into his mouth from the overwhelming sensation. Once they broke the kiss, Sam looked at him through half-massed eyes.

"You know…" she said. "Normally I would get upset about being interrupted. But if you interrupt me like that, you can do it anytime you want."

Miguel laughed.

"Okay. I guess I should go get ready." Miguel said. Sam nodded. As Miguel started to turn around, Sam realised something… this was her chance to tell Miguel about San Diego!

"Hey, Miguel!" She called. Miguel, who was walking away, turned back around and faced her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Um…"

Sam took a deep breath. Now or never.

"Be there at 7, okay?" Sam suddenly stammered. She couldn't do it. She had chickened out in the last minute. It was fine. She could just do it some other time.

Miguel nodded.

"Sure. See you soon…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Why are we doing this again?" Daniel complained to Amanda that evening, right before Miguel was due to arrive. Amanda sighed. Daniel had always been extremely protective of his daughter, and after he had heard what Miguel did for a living, he immediately had a bad first impression and painted a picture of what he thought Miguel was like in his mind.

"Because our daughter really cares about this guy. There's a very real chance he could become your son-in-law some day so you might want to be nice." Amanda replied. Daniel scoffed.

"Yeah, fat chance! I'm telling you Amanda, this guy's probably a huge jerk. You heard what he does for a living. He's probably some huge jackass who has deceived Sam with his muscle mass, and is just in it with my daughter for sex."

Amanda snorted.

"Wow, you really don't know your daughter, do you?" Amanda remarked. "Sam's smart enough to see if someone is playing her. Chances are he's a soft-spoken, respectful, kind young man who really cares about Sam."

"Ha, no way!" Daniel rolled his eyes. Amanda raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" Amanda asked. Before Daniel could answer, the doorbell rang…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sam was running around and organising everything before Miguel came over for dinner. Once everything was to her satisfaction, she plopped down on the couch. A smile came to her lips as she thought about the blissful year and two months that she had spent with Miguel. She was pulled out of her daydream when the doorbell rang. She sprang to her feet and raced for the door, trying desperately to beat her parents to it. But she was too late. Her mom got there before she could though and opened the door…

Standing at the door was a Hispanic man, dressed in a smart navy button-up shirt and black trousers, holding an expensive bottle of wine in his hands.

"Hi. You must be Miguel. We've heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally put a face to a name." Amanda said cheerfully. Miguel nodded and shook her and Daniel's hands.

"Yeah, it's really great to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Larusso." Miguel said, politely. He could feel Amanda and Daniel examining him with their eyes. They were trying to gauge any first impressions they could of him. As they led him into the house, Amanda smirked at her husband. She was right. Miguel was exactly how she described. He was soft spoken, polite and extremely understated. Amanda, Daniel, Sam, Miguel and Anthony sat at the table and the group began to chat and eat, getting to know Miguel…


	14. Chapter 14

_**CHAPTER 14** _

"So Sam says you were in the war. See any action?" Anthony, Sam's 18 year old brother, asked eagerly, almost immediately after the group had sat down to eat. Miguel coughed on a sip of water he had just drank. He closed his eyes briefly. He had seen more 'action' than any man should have to witness. He had seen his SEAL brothers die both to enemies abroad and to their mental demons at home.

"Anthony!" Sam snapped, nervously seeing Miguel's troubled facial expression. She squeezed his hand under the table. "Miguel, you don't have to answer that."

"Yeah, I saw a little." Miguel eventually replied.

"You know, I'm thinking about enlisting, too." Anthony said.

"No, you're not." Daniel stated, immediately.

"Yes, I am! I want a real-life experience." Anthony exclaimed. "What am I gonna learn at Princeton that I couldn't learn from the Internet?"

"What it feels like to touch a live girl?" Sam remarked. The table couldn't help but snigger as Anthony blushed furiously and bit his tongue.

"Well, you know, if you truly want to be a SEAL, I think you should enlist." Miguel remarked, earning a glare from Daniel. "But only if it's actually what you want to do with your life. If you're just trying to piss off your parents, I've heard that hitch-hiking through Thailand is just as effective. Trust me, the people who try to become SEALs for bragging rights, or pissing off parents, or for a way to pick up girls don't even last a day in training."

"Is SEAL training really as hard as people say? Like all of us read stories and see videos on the internet about how tough the training is. Is that myth or fact?" Daniel asked, curiously. Miguel chuckled and shook his head.

"Honestly, it's not nearly as hard as people make it out to be, IF you have the right mindset going in. It's really a mental test more than a physical one. Having to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and going to sleep at 11:30 at night, and spending the whole day in between being brutally pushed to your body's limits day after day after day for half a year… It's getting up in the morning, knowing what's ahead that's the hardest part. But if you truly want to be there and want to become a SEAL, it's pretty easy."

"Do a lot of people drop out during the training course?" Amanda asked. She was intrigued. Although Miguel was clearly very fit, he was NOT what Amanda or Daniel had expected when Sam had told them she was dating a SEAL. They were expecting someone who was completely bulked out with as much muscle as a bodybuilder. Someone who worked out all day, chugged raw eggs as protein, and then worked out all night.

"Well yeah, quite a few. When we first arrived for training, one of the Drill Instructors looked at all of us and told us to 'look at the person to your left, the person to your right, the person in front of you and the person behind. One of the five of you might graduate.'"

"Seriously? Only 1 in 5 people pass?!" Amanda exclaimed. Miguel shook his head.

"Not even. I think the current percentage is 9.5%." Miguel replied.

"Wow. Well, Anthony, I guess it's safe to say you're not getting through." Amanda remarked.

"Hey!" Anthony cried as the group laughed at him.

"Anyways, as interesting as my job seems, it's definitely not as interesting as yours. After all, who could compete with 'slashing prices' and 'kicking the competition?'" Miguel remarked, referring to the slogans of Larusso Auto.

"Oh, you've seen the billboards?" Daniel asked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah. I actually grew up here so I'd see them everywhere." Miguel replied.

"You grew up in California?" Amanda asked, surprised. Sam hadn't mentioned that before.

"Well, kinda. I spent the first 12 years of my life in Ecuador, where I'm from. Then I moved to L.A at age 13 to Reseda and I spent 5 years there. I couldn't afford a car back then so I used to ride my bike past your dealership every day on the way home from school."

"You rode a motorcycle?" Daniel asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. He knew the biker type from back when he was in high school. People like Johnny Lawrence. That was NOT the kind of person he wanted his daughter dated, even if the guy seemed nice on the outside.

"Ha. I wish." Miguel chuckled. "No, I rode a manual bike up until I enlisted."

"Oh, right." Daniel replied, slowly warming up to Miguel more and more every second. "Speaking of which? Why did you enlist? I mean the Navy isn't the most common post-high school choice, is it?"

"Yeah, it really isn't, is it?" Miguel chuckled. "I mean the main reason I enlisted was because my family didn't have any money for college. A recruiter told me that serving an enlistment in the military would make me eligible for a paid education program. They were willing to pay part, if not all, of my college tuition fees and help me become an engineer."

"Oh, that's cool. But, at risk of sounding dumb, haven't you been there for more than a deployment?" Amanda asked. Miguel laughed.

"Yeah, little bit." He remarked. "Yeah, so I served my enlistment as a seaman…"

"Hehehe… Semen." Anthony sniggered, earning him a glare from his parents and Sam.

"Anthony!" Amanda snapped. "Please ignore him, Miguel. He seems to have accidentally forgotten to grow up."

"It's fine. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that joke, I probably could retire tomorrow." Miguel remarked. "Anyways, I worked for 3 years as an engineer on various warships and I was supposed to retire and go to college right after but I didn't really want to leave at that point. I had found a home in the Navy and had been recommended to SEAL training. I felt like there were more people in the world who needed my help so I've re-enlisted three times and I haven't looked back."

"Wow, that's really awesome." Amanda said. Miguel smiled faintly.

"Thanks. You know, I gotta say. You guys are a lot nicer than the other car dealership owner I met. That Tom Cole guy is the worst!"

"Hahahaha, I like this guy already." Amanda laughed, patting Miguel on the shoulder.

The group talked for about another half hour as they ate, and that meant half an hour of Miguel being asked extremely invasive questions as Amanda and Daniel judged him as a person. He could practically feel the cogs turning in their brains as they internally debated whether he was good for Sam. Although he really wanted them to like him, he knew that if they didn't, he would still want to date Sam. After all, it wasn't the olden days when people had to ask a girl's parents for permission to date their daughter.

"All right, if everyone's done eating, I'm going to do the dishes really quick."

Miguel stood up.

"Please, let me do it." Miguel said. "The food was absolutely amazing. The least I can do is help clean up."

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked, unsure. Miguel nodded and Amanda smiled widely. "Wow. Sam, why can't you be more like your boyfriend?!"

"Haha, very funny." Sam rolled her eyes as she helped Miguel carry the plates into the kitchen. Once the couple were alone, Sam turned to Miguel.

"Hey, I'm sorry my parents and brother are asking so many invasive questions. They can be pretty rude sometimes." Sam remarked. Miguel chuckled.

"Hey, I'm a SEAL. I survived being waterboarded during training. I think I can survive a night with your parents." Miguel joked. "No but seriously, your parents are cool. Trust me, if you think your parents are bad, you're in for a rude awakening when you meet my stepdad."

"He also asks invasive questions?" Sam asked. Miguel chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, he's just a dick." Miguel replied, honestly. Sam gasped and laughed.

"That's not very nice!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh no, I know. But what better word can you use for a guy who believes that 'chicks love it when you treat them like crap?'"

Sam laughed and raised an eyebrow as the two of them cleaned the dishes together.

"Wow, he sounds like a real peach." Sam remarked. Miguel chuckled and nodded. After the two were done washing the dishes, they walked back into the living room, where Daniel and Amanda were sitting. When they made it, Daniel stood up.

"Hey, um… Miguel, would you mind helping me move one of the couches upstairs downstairs?" Daniel asked. "It's too heavy for me to lift alone so I could use your help."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Miguel said, standing up and following Daniel out the room and upstairs. Once they were gone, Sam turned to her mom.

"So… what do you think of Miguel?" Sam asked. "You must have come to a conclusion after the millionth question you asked him."

"What?! This is the first time you've brought a serious boyfriend home to meet us! We needed to…"

"Vet him like the police?" Sam remarked.

"Get to know him." Amanda corrected. "But hey, for what it's worth, Miguel is amazing. You picked a good one. Very polite. Respectful. Certainly very attractive."

Sam giggled at the last one.

"Yeah, Miguel's awesome." She replied. Her heart sank a bit when she remembered her move to San Diego. That was going to be a HARD conversation. "I just hope dad doesn't scare him away right now…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As Miguel followed Daniel into their upstairs TV room (that's right, they had two freakin' TV rooms!), he looked over and saw a picture of a teenage Daniel and an old, Japanese man in a gorgeous location that Miguel actually recognised, despite the fact that it was not in the U.S.A. Daniel noticed the picture Miguel's eyes were lingering on and he walked over to him.

"Beautiful photo." Miguel remarked, pointing at the lush forest behind the two people. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, you just don't get that kind of beauty here. That photo was taken in Japan." Daniel said.

"Okinawa, right?" Miguel asked. He had instantly recognised the mountain in the back of the photo because he himself had been there. Daniel nodded, surprised.

"Yeah, how'd you know? It's not exactly Tokyo." Daniel asked.

"I was stationed in a warship off the coast of Japan during my first three years with the Navy. During a two week break, a couple of friends and I trekked all around Okinawa. It was an absolutely gorgeous place." Miguel replied. Daniel whistled.

"Wow, join the military and you really do get to see the world, huh?" Daniel remarked. Miguel smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Afghanistan, Germany, France, UK, Djibouti, Iraq, Somalia, Bahrain, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh, Jordan, Yemen, India, Pakistan and Brazil so far." Miguel replied.

Daniel nodded and thought for several moments. Miguel was the opposite of everything he expected him to be. This wasn't a shredded, tattooed, rude, selfish guy. Amanda was absolutely right.

"You know Miguel, when I heard my daughter was dating someone in the military, I'll admit I wasn't happy."

"Let me guess… you thought I was some loud-mouth, insensitive jerk who was just using your daughter?" Miguel remarked. Daniel reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked.

"Because that describes about 90% of my platoon." Miguel replied. Daniel chuckled and shrugged.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit when I'm wrong, you are the exact opposite of everything I thought. Sam's a grown woman so it's not like she needs my approval let alone permission to date anyone, but for what it's worth, you definitely have my thumbs up."

Miguel smiled, relieved.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Larusso. I really appreciate it. And just know that I would never do anything to hurt Sam. I really do love her a lot."

"I know. I can see that. And she clearly cares about you a lot too." Daniel replied. "God, I was so convinced something was going to go wrong tonight."

"Night's not over yet." Miguel mumbled quietly. Daniel heard him.

"What's that?" He asked. Miguel sighed. He wasn't planning to tell Daniel about who his stepfather was that night.

"Well, I mean I wasn't planning on mentioning this tonight but I might as well because you were bound to find out eventually. I think you know my stepfather from back in high school."

"Really? What's his name?" Daniel asked, curious. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Um… Johnny Lawrence." Miguel replied. Daniel's face paled…


	15. Chapter 15

"WHAT?! You're related to Johnny Lawrence?!" Daniel shouted angrily once he had gotten over his shock. Miguel raised his hands in surrender. Amanda and Sam heard the shout and ran into the room moments later.

"What's going on in here?" Sam asked, nervously.

"What's going on Sam is that your boyfriend is the spawn of the asshole who terrorised me in high school."

"Excuse me? That's my stepfather you're calling an asshole!" Miguel said, trying to stay calm. Sam sensed the tension rapidly rising between the two of them and she quickly intertwined her hand in Miguel's, squeezing it gently as a way of begging him to stay calm.

"Wait… you're related to Johnny Lawrence?" Amanda asked. She knew exactly who Johnny was. Daniel still talked about him a lot. He never got over the hatred he felt towards the man, not even 45 years later. When Miguel nodded, Amanda winced and sucked in air. "Oh boy, this is gonna be interesting."

At that moment, Anthony, who had heard the conversation so far, walked into the room.

"Hey dad, you know if Sam and Miguel get married, you and Johnny Lawrence will officially be related." Anthony remarked, causing Daniel to get even more upset and scowl even further.

"Oh my God, Anthony! You make everything worse!" Sam snapped.

"Yeah, Anthony, get out of here." Amanda demanded. Anthony reluctantly slunk out of the room, leaving just the 4 adults in the living room.

"Sam, how could you date someone related to that man?"

"Hey, I'll have you know that my step-father is a great man! If you saw him in the past 45 years since you were in high school, you'd know that! He fought for this country in the Air Force!" Miguel exclaimed.

"He did?" Daniel asked, slightly unsure.

"Well, kinda. He got dishonorably discharged for disorderly conduct a couple of months into training." Miguel murmured, blushing. Daniel nodded furiously and pointed at him.

"See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! He's a bad guy!" Daniel exclaimed.

"He's not a bad guy." Miguel growled, getting more annoyed with every second. "He just had a rough life! An abusive stepfather and karate sensei. But he turned it all around now."

"No, no, no. You need to watch out, Miguel. People like Johnny… they don't change."

"Dad, stop!" Sam cried as she noticed Miguel's face getting redder and redder with rage. "What's wrong with you?! That's his family you're talking about!"

"Yeah, Daniel, stop!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Look, Miguel, I'm sorry." Daniel sighed, his anger starting to subside slightly. "It's just… you have no idea how much that man put me through. Him and his posse made my life a living hell. They pushed me off a cliff, for crying out loud!"

"I thought it was a hill." Sam remarked. Daniel glared at her.

"Mr. Larusso, with all due respect, it has been 45 years. Isn't there any way you could put whatever happened between you and Johnny in the past?" Miguel asked. "I was bullied in high school too, by your daughter and her awful friends no less."

"Hey! Why the driveby?!" Sam exclaimed indignantly.

"Sorry." Miguel murmured to her, before turning back to her dad. "If I can forget about mine, can't you do the same?"

Daniel eventually sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I… I guess I can. I'm sorry, Miguel." Daniel murmured. Miguel smiled widely.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Larusso." Miguel replied. "And I'll be sure to let Johnny know that because you've gotten over what he did to you, it's time for him to get over what you did to him."

Sam groaned. So close…

Daniel's faint smile immediately vanished and was replaced by a scowl.

"Excuse me?!" Daniel snapped. "What did you just say?!"

Miguel looked at him, confused.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, Johnny was definitely a pretty questionable person back then, but it wasn't like you were completely innocent." Miguel said, calmly. Although it would've been easy for him to just bite his tongue, he wasn't about to let anyone get away with insulting his step-father, even if it was his girlfriend's dad.

Sam, sensing danger, grabbed Miguel's hand and started to pull him away.

"Okay, Miguel, come on. Let's go for a walk." Sam stammered, pulling Miguel towards the door but they were quickly stopped when Daniel stood in the doorway and blocked their exit.

"Hold on! Hold on, Sam! I want to hear what the man has to say! Miguel, what did _I_ do to Johnny?" Daniel snapped. Miguel raised his hands in surrender.

"Look, I wasn't there. I don't know exactly what happened. Clearly both of you have your… let's call them 'biases.'"

"Watch it, Miguel." Daniel growled. Miguel raised his hands in surrender.

"Look, I'm not trying to fight. Not at all. All I'm saying is look at things from his perspective. You came into town, stole his girlfriend when he and her were going through a rough patch, sucker-punched him and tried to goad him into fights several times, got an adult karate master to fight your battles for you, and then won that tournament you two competed in by using a crane kick that was, according to All-American Karate rules, actually illegal."

Sam couldn't help but hold back a laugh at this point. Miguel had rendered her dad speechless. Daniel's face was crimson-red and his mouth was opening and closing like a fish as he tried to regain his speech. He managed to regain his words moments later.

"Get out of my house right now." Daniel snarled. Miguel nodded and turned to Amanda, smiling at her.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Larusso. It was really great meeting you." Miguel said.

"Yeah, it was awesome meeting you too, Miguel." Amanda smiled at him and scowled at her husband. Miguel had been nothing but polite. It was Daniel who had been immature, rude and selfish, ironically everything he had thought Miguel was going to be going into the evening.

Miguel walked out of the house moments later and once he was gone, Sam and Amanda both turned to Daniel.

"Well, thank God he's gone. I should've known he was related to Johnny. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" Daniel remarked. Sam and Amanda looked at him in disbelief.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you?" Amanda snapped.

"Pardon me?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Daniel, you're acting like a mental patient!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Yeah, dad! Miguel was nothing but polite to you, even when you were straight-up insulting his family!" Sam added. Daniel's eyes widened.

"Are you kidding? He was way out of line, falsely accusing me of things that happened in high school!"

"He was defending his step-dad, who you were unnecessarily ripping into! But you're not mad about the fact that he brought up that stuff. You're mad about the fact that everything he said was true!" Amanda shot back. Daniel shook his head.

"Look, I'm the first to admit that I'm not a saint. I wasn't back then and I'm not now." Daniel said. "I don't have all the answers. I don't know everything. But one thing I do know is Johnny Lawrence. That man is BAD news. He shoved me down a hill and tried to kill me. But most of all, he was disrespectful and bordering on abusive towards his ex-girlfriend."

"Dad, whatever Johnny did to his girlfriend, Miguel is NOT like that. I mean, you both saw how laid back he is." Sam stated.

"Yeah, and Ali dated Johnny for two years with no problems. It was only when they got into a fight that Johnny became abusive. Who's to say that when and if you and Miguel get into a fight, he won't become the same asshole his stepfather is?!"

"Oh my God, Dad! Look, you need to sort out your issues with Johnny Lawrence! Sooner rather than later!" Sam cried. "Because whether you like it or not, Miguel and I are going to stay together. You can't pull the 'you live under my roof, you play by my rules', overprotective father act anymore. I live my own life now! I make my own money. I live in my own place. So I'm going to continue my relationship with Miguel and we're going to see where our relationship goes. I've never loved or cared about anyone as much as I care about him. We may well get married one day, and you're just going to have to deal with that."

"Well, I'll tell you from now, that's one wedding I'm not going to." Daniel snapped.

"DANIEL!" Amanda shouted. Daniel sighed.

"Look, Sam, I know you're a grown woman so I have no say in who you date, but if you're asking me to get on board with this relationship, I'm sorry but I can't. Not after seeing first-hand how rude and abusive his own father can be. I love you so much, Sam, and I'm just trying to look out for you. Good night, Sam."

With that, Daniel walked out of the room…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel pulled into his family's driveway late that night and he walked inside. The lights were all off but he heard loud noises coming from the living room. He walked over and saw that Johnny was watching Iron Eagle, a cooler of beer beside him. When Miguel trudged into the room, Johnny looked up and nodded at him.

"Hey. How was dinner with the Larussos?" He asked. Miguel sighed, taking off his necktie and dropping it onto the floor, before collapsing onto the sofa next to his stepdad.

"Well, upside is that I think Sam's mom really likes me." Miguel remarked.

"Downside?" Johnny asked. Miguel sighed again.

"Downside is that you were absolutely right about Sam's dad being a bit of a bitch. Cares more about his rivalry with you from 45 years ago than me or my relationship with his daughter. He spent 10 minutes insulting you and then when I started to defend you, he threw me out." Miguel finished, glumly. Johnny nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds like the Daniel Larusso I remember." Johnny chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry buddy. You want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly." Miguel murmured. Johnny let out a small sigh of relief.

"Thank God." Johnny muttered. He HATED talking. Miguel chuckled and rolled his eyes at his stepdad.

"Just pass me a beer." Miguel said. Johnny nodded and tossed Miguel a can of Coors Banquet. Closing his eyes, Miguel cracked open the beer and took a sip. He spent the next hour and a half watching the movie intently, despite the fact that both of them had seen it about a thousand times. It gave Miguel a distraction from the world around him. Lord knows he needed one…


	16. Chapter 16

Miguel and Johnny watched the movie and it ended at around midnight. At that point, Johnny got up and went to bed, leaving just Miguel in the living room. Miguel took out his phone and saw that he had an unread message from Sam from 5 minutes ago. Miguel was instantly nervous. Sam could well be texting to break up with him. In retrospect, he had been pretty stubborn with Mr. Larusso. He could've just bit his tongue and ignored Daniel's comments about Johnny. Why did he have to retaliate? Even though his tone remained polite, he could've tried harder to keep peace. Miguel read the message…

**I'm so sorry about tonight. Idk what my dad was thinking. Meet at our spot? x  
**

After sending a quick response, Miguel reluctantly grabbed his coat and headed out the door. He was exhausted. It had been an extremely long day and he really wanted to go to sleep. However, he forced himself out of the house and into an uber (he had had a couple of beers so didn't want to drive) and he went to the bench in Griffith Park, where Sam was already waiting. Miguel walked over to her and sat beside her. She looked up and smiled at him when she saw him. It had clearly been a rough night for her; she looked extremely weary too.

"Hey." Sam murmured, exhaustion taking over her whole body as she leaned into Miguel's side and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey. Long night for you too?" Miguel asked. Sam sighed and nodded, her eyes fluttering open and shut as sleep came closer and closer.

"Like you wouldn't believe." She replied.

"Hey, Sam, I'm sorry for causing problems tonight." Miguel murmured. Sam looked at him, confused.

"You? It was all my dad! I mean, what kind of person starts ripping into their rival from 45 years ago, right in front of their son?!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel shook his head.

"No, no, It was partly my fault too. I could've just bit my tongue and not responded when he was talking about Johnny and the night would've gone fine. My stupid pride got in the way and I just had to defend him. I should've just shut up."

Sam shook her head.

"No, you did the right thing! You stood up for the people you care about. If anything, I'm impressed. You kept your cool and remained polite and respectful, locked horns with my dad, and you stood up for yourself. His reaction to that is his problem, not yours."

"Still, by doing so, it's not like I was exactly endearing myself to your family in the process." Miguel remarked. Sam shook her head.

"You know, I don't actually think that's the case. My mom and brother loved you. It's just my dad that…"

"Hates my stepdad and I with a fire-like passion that will never be quenched for as long as my family live and breathe?" Miguel remarked. Sam nodded and looked at him, surprised.

"Yeah, that's exactly it. How do you know?" Sam asked. Miguel smiled faintly.

"Um… because it's exactly how my stepfather feels about your family." Miguel replied. Sam groaned and banged her head against Miguel's shoulder again and again.

"Ugh… why do our dads have to be so immature?" Sam grumbled. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, I love how chill our moms are, and then there's just our dads…" Miguel chuckled. Sam laughed.

"Yeah. Saddest part is they have so much in common. They could be friends in another lifetime." Sam stated. Miguel nodded.

"Yup. I feel like if they just sat down and talked through their issues, they could be over it in a half an hour." Miguel said. Sam shook her head.

"Nah. This is a 45 year old grudge between two man-children we're talking about here. It's going to take a lot more than a single conversation. They need a whole night of bonding at least." She replied. Miguel sighed.

"Well that ain't happening, what with them not willing to be within 100 yards of each other." Miguel commented. Sam nodded.

"Going to make future Thanksgivings and holidays pretty awkward, huh?" Sam stated. Miguel laughed and nodded.

"Little bit." He responded. "We need to find a way for them to be forced to communicate with each other."

"Yeah, what do you suggest?" She asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I don't know. Any ideas?" He asked. Sam sighed and shook her head. The two sat on the bench and pondered, racking their brains for any possible way they could get their fathers to talk to one another. After nearly 20 minutes, both of them were practically falling asleep on the bench as it was past 2 in the morning, but they still had no ideas.

"Okay, I think we should probably go home and get some sleep, huh?" Sam remarked. Miguel nodded and stood up.

"Yeah. Could you please swing by and drop me home on your way?" Miguel asked. Sam nodded and the two of them walked towards Sam's car. They got inside but then, disaster struck… When Sam turned the key to turn on the car, the engine made a couple of spluttery chokes before going silent. Sam tried to turn on her car multiple times again but despite her efforts, it still wouldn't turn on. She turned to Miguel, annoyed.

"Well I guess my car's decided to die now. Great timing." She remarked. Miguel nodded.

"I mean I could try and fix it in the dark, but without any light, I'd risk damaging the car further." Miguel replied. Sam shook her head.

"Yeah, don't do that. Maybe try calling a tow truck?" Sam suggested. Miguel took out his phone, looked at it and sighed.

"No signal." He replied and groaned. "The one place in all of L.A that doesn't get a signal."

"So I guess we're stuck here." Sam muttered, walking around her car in circles. Miguel shrugged.

"Hey, it could be worse." He remarked, opening the back door of the car and pulling Sam inside. He then reclined the back seat so that they were lying horizontally, grabbed the blanket that Sam always kept in the boot of the car and he draped it over the two of them. The final thing he did was opening the sunroof of the car so they got a gorgeous view of the midnight sky and the clusters of stars above them.

Sam and Miguel then lay back on the soft, plush seats and cuddled in the blankets.

"You know, two years ago today, I was sleeping on a sand dune, being baked by 40 degree temperatures in Bahrain. I'd have killed for something like this. Not such a bad night, huh?"

Sam nodded.

"Not bad at all." She replied, thinking back to the very first night they met. Looking back on it, that was one of the best nights of her life. She had met the love of her life that night. She just prayed that when she finally got around to telling him about San Diego, he sticks around.

Around 6 hours into their sleep, Sam awoke with a start. She had just had a dream that had given her an amazing idea on how to get her dad and Miguel's dad to see each other.

"Miguel." She whispered, not wanting to wake him as his eyes were closed and he was sleeping peacefully, but on the other hand, really wanted to tell him about her idea.

"Yeah?" He replied in a perfectly clear, not groggy voice, his eyes snapping open and proving that he had been awake for a while.

"You're awake?" Sam asked, confused. He seemed to be sleeping just moments earlier.

"Yeah. I wake up really early, remember?" Miguel said. "I've been up for like 2 hours."

"Well, why didn't you get up?" Sam asked.

"Well, um… you're kind of laying on my arm." Miguel replied. Sam sat up quickly, and Miguel was able to move his arm away.

"Sorry." She murmured.

"Don't worry. All good." He replied. He then winced as he moved his arm, and he shook his shoulder out gently. "Ow, pins and needles."

"Hey, hey, listen. I had an amazing idea on how to get our parents to get over their grudge last night." Sam stated. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Is it for them to cuddle in the back of a car? I mean, I'm all for trying that but I don't think that'll work." Miguel joked. Sam rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder playfully.

"No, you idiot! This is an actual good idea." She stated.

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" He asked, curiously. She smiled.

"Well… have you ever heard of the movie The Parent Trap?"


	17. Chapter 17

_**CHAPTER 17** _

"Hey, Johnny." Miguel said, walking into the living room that morning. "What say you, you and I do something tonight?"

Johnny, who was sitting on the sofa, watching a football game, looked at him and nodded. It was his final day of Christmas break before he had to go back to work as a handyman so he had the day off. He really wanted to spend time with Miguel as he hadn't seen him very much the entire week as Miguel had spent most of his time with Sam.

"Sure. What do you want to do?" Johnny asked. Miguel shrugged and sat on the armchair opposite Johnny.

"I don't know. What do you feel like doing?" Miguel asked. Johnny thought for a moment.

"Well, the Kings are playing the Caps at the Staples Center tonight. We could try and get tickets." Johnny suggested. Miguel smiled and nodded. Hockey was one of him and Johnny's favourite sports to watch together. The sport was extremely rough, eventful, fast-paced… just pure awesome. In addition, Johnny was an L.A Kings fan and Miguel was a Washington Capitals fan (Washington D.C was the closest city to Virginia) so it was bound to be very fun for them. This was all part of the plan for Miguel. He wanted to get Johnny in the best possible mood before him and Sam attempted to parent trap their dads.

"Yeah, sure. I'll get the tickets. I got a buddy who's a scalper so I'm sure he can get us some really good seats." Miguel replied.

With that, Miguel walked out the room, booked the tickets, and then sent Sam a quick message…

**Step 1 of the plan done. I'm taking Johnny 2 a Hockey game tonight. What u got planned for ur dad this afternoon? Let's plan to meet at around 9. Sound good?**

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Hey, dad?" Sam said, walking into the kitchen, where her dad was sitting and drinking a cup of coffee. It had been just over a day since Miguel had come over, and Sam had barely spoken to her dad. Daniel's head shot up, surprised that his daughter was speaking to him.

"S… Sam?" Daniel stammered. "We're talking?"

Sam smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, look, dad, I was thinking. It was wrong for me to be too mad at you. You really were just looking out for me. I haven't yet decided whether I'm going to end things with Miguel or not, but I just wanted to make sure that we're good?" Sam lied, feeling a pang of guilt in her chest as she lied to her dad's face. She wasn't breaking up with Miguel. She just needed to get her dad to the location that evening.

"Yeah, we're good." Daniel smiled. Sam hugged her dad.

"Thank you so much, Dad." Sam replied. "So I was thinking… Why don't the two of us spend the day together, like the old days?"

Daniel nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I'd love that!" He exclaimed. Sam nodded.

"Cool. Well I had a great idea of what we could do…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Miguel, why are we leaving so early?" Johnny asked as he put his coat on. It was 2 in the afternoon and the game was starting at 6, so they had a good couple of hours but Miguel was insisting that they leave at that moment.

"Yeah, we're going on a slight detour first. I had an idea for a fun activity we could do first." Miguel said, cryptically. A couple of hours before, he had thought of an AMAZING way to get Johnny in the best possible mood before the parent trap. Something they could do before the hockey game.

Miguel grabbed a black backpack from the side of the room, threw on his Capitals jersey, and headed out the door after his step-father.

They got in the car and Miguel drove for 10 minutes, before parking in front of an unmarked, run-down building. Johnny and Miguel got out of the car, and immediately, Johnny heard the unmistakable BANG! BANG! BANG! of a gun. Johnny looked nervously at Miguel, who looked perfectly calm.

"Um… Miguel? Are you sure about this?" Johnny asked. "That sounded like…"

"Gunshots? Yeah." Miguel replied. Johnny's eyes widened in alarm and Miguel chuckled. "Don't worry. You're gonna love this! Just trust me."

"Uh… okay." Johnny murmured. The two stepped inside and Johnny immediately realised that he was at an indoor shooting range. Miguel casually walked up to the counter, and then he surreptitiously gave the front desk lady his backpack. When Miguel walked back to his stepfather, Johnny looked at him, suspicious. Miguel noticed.

"What?" He asked.

"Uh… did I just witness a drug deal? That looked kinda shady, not gonna lie." Johnny stated. Miguel laughed when he realised what the bag hand-off looked like, and he shook his head.

"Chill out! I'm a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy SEAL Team 2! I get drug tested once a month, for God Sake! I'd be stupid to get involved in that shit. You'll see in a second what was in the bag. Now let's get some guns and get started."

Johnny rubbed his hands together in anticipation and grinned, before following Miguel to the gun armory.

"So… you fancy a little wager?" Johnny asked. Miguel looked at him and smirked.

"You sure? They don't call me Deadshot in the Navy for nothing." Miguel stated. Johnny looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Who? Who calls you Deadshot?" Johnny asked. Miguel was temporarily speechless and he blushed.

"Okay, I call me Deadshot, but that doesn't mean I'm not the best shooter in my platoon. You don't want to face me."

"I'll take my chances. 20 dollar bet?" Johnny asked. Miguel shook his hand.

"You're on." He replied, picking up a Desert Eagle pistol and handing one to Johnny. The two then walked over to their two private lanes in the shooting range and moments later, the two human shaped targets were connected to the conveyor belt and pulled towards them until they were just a couple of feet away. When Johnny saw them, he couldn't help but laugh… Miguel had given the front desk lady a large picture of Daniel's head, and a large picture of Sam's head and they had stuck the two pieces of paper on top of the normally plain white target.

"Woooow. That is just… gorgeous." Johnny remarked. "Okay, I'm shooting Larusso. You're shooting your girlfriend."

They clicked the button to send the two targets rolling back until they were 7 yards away from them. The two then raised their guns so they were pointing at Daniel and Sam's head. As Johnny fired his bullet that buried into fake-Daniel's chest, Miguel hesitated. He was about to shoot a very life-like picture of Sam, and that was harder than it seemed.

"Okay, this just seems wrong." Miguel stated as he stared at Sam's face, and he lowered his gun without taking a shot.

"Forfeiting already, Diaz?" Johnny smirked. Miguel shook his head furiously.

"Hell, no." He replied, raising his gun again and aiming at the target. Normally, the expert marksman that he was, he could bury that bullet right between the eyes. However, when he fired the bullet, he couldn't bring himself to shoot Sam in the head. Instead, he fired the bullet into the arm of the target, a place where he had been taught to shoot when ordered to wound but not kill. Miguel sent all 9 of his bullets to his target's arms, but Johnny missed 3, hit 2 to the chest, 3 to the arms, and 1 to the head. Needless to say, Johnny had beaten Miguel by a lot.

Johnny grinned at Miguel.

"Pay up." Johnny stated. Miguel reluctantly took out a 20 from his wallet and handed it to Johnny, who smirked and waved the bill triumphantly in Miguel's face. "Wow, for someone in the Navy, you really have shit aim."

"Hey, it's the face targets. Normally I can bury 9 to the head no problem!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Sure. Sure you can." Johnny grinned, disbelieving.

"I can!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Excuses, Excu…"

Johnny couldn't finish his sentence because in the blink of an eye, Miguel had reloaded his gun and had fired 9 bullets into the head of a faceless target in the next lane over, right between the target's eyes. He then turned to Johnny.

"So… Double or nothing on different targets?" Miguel asked gleefully. Johnny, who was speechless after seeing Miguel's expert shooting, struggled to form a reply.

"I… um… let's get going to the Staples Center. Don't want to be late for the hockey game." He stammered. Miguel laughed and the two of them walked out of the gun range together. Miguel smiled to himself. Johnny was in a great mood, and hockey was going to only raise that even further…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Wow, Sam! I can't believe you still remember Golf N Stuff." Daniel laughed as they finally got in the car after their long day out. They had first of all gone to watch Bohemian Rhapsody in the cinema - a biography about Daniel's favourite band's lead singer - and after that, Sam decided to take him on a blast to the past by going to the amusement park Daniel had taken her to countless times when she was younger. After an afternoon of mini-golf and arcade, they had finally started walking back to the parking lot, towards Sam's car.

"Are you kidding?! I could never forget this place. We came here like every week when I was 8!" Sam exclaimed. Daniel smiled.

"Oh, yeah! Every Friday after school, we'd come and spend the afternoon here." Daniel reminisced. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, those days were awesome." Sam remarked. "So, do you want to go get a drink or something?"

Daniel's eyes narrowed.

"Drink?" He asked. Sam giggled.

"Dad, I'm 27! I'm well above the drinking age!" She laughed. Daniel chuckled, nodded and relaxed considerably. "Oh, wait! I had one more place I thought we could go first!"

"What's that?" Daniel asked. Sam grinned.

"You'll see…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Man, the Caps suck!" Johnny exclaimed as him and Miguel got into Miguel's car after the hockey game and Miguel started driving away from the Staples Center.

"Hey! That's not true! We just have bad goaltending, bad defense and a bad attack!" Miguel exclaimed. Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, then. What good things to the Caps have?"

"Um…" Miguel stammered, silent for several moments. Johnny was right. The Capitals do indeed suck. "Well, the jerseys look kinda cool this year."

"The jerseys?!" Johnny laughed. "Jeez, the team must be really struggling if that's how low you're going to go."

"Shut up." Miguel murmured, rolling his eyes. The two parked moments later, and Johnny looked at where Miguel had taken them. It was the All Valley Sports Arena, location of Johnny's infamous loss to Daniel 45 years ago! Johnny tensed up.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Johnny snapped. Miguel smiled.

"Well, given that you and Larusso are back in each other's lives, I figured there was going to be a fight between the two of you eventually. I thought maybe I could teach you some Krav Maga that I learned in the Navy, and in return you could teach me some of that Karate I've heard so much about?"

Johnny eventually smiled and nodded.

"Great idea, kid." He said, as the two of them walked into the deserted arena. As they made it to the karate arena, Miguel turned to Johnny.

"Hey, I'm just going to run to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back." Miguel said. Johnny nodded and Miguel walked towards the exit door of the arena…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Here we are." Sam said, parking her car and stepping out with her dad. As Daniel looked around, he smiled widely.

"Aw, it's the All-Valley arena." Daniel smiled. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. We've been doing a blast from the past kind of thing all day so I thought you and I could practise sparring together like we used to, and what better place to do it than the place you won your All-Valley title."

"That sounds amazing." Daniel replied, and the two of them walked inside. Just as they were about to get to the Karate section of the arena, Sam turned to her dad.

"Hey, Dad? I think I forgot to lock the car." Sam said. "You go ahead. I'll meet you at the arena."

Daniel nodded and Sam turned around and walked away. As she walked out of Daniel's sight, she was about to take out her phone and text Miguel when she felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull her into a dark room. Sam was about to scream when she saw herself face-to-face with Miguel, and she immediately relaxed.

"Jesus, Christ! You scared me!" She exclaimed, kissing him quickly.

"Sorry!" Miguel whispered. "Are you sure this is going to work, Sam? I mean, taking our parents back to the time where they hated each other most just seems like a recipe for disaster to me."

"Yeah, it might be." Sam stated. "But it's the only way we're going to ever get them in the same room as each other so I guess we have to try…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Daniel walked through the familiar halls of the All-Valley sports arena. He saw the pictures of the only two double All-Valley winners: him and Johnny Lawrence, and his eyes lingered on the latter. He couldn't believe his bad luck. How could that man be back in his life 45 years later?! As Daniel then looked at the picture of himself lifting his first All-Valley trophy, he noticed something… Amidst the scrum of people celebrating him and lifting him into the air was Johnny Lawrence, a faint smile on his face. He then saw Kreese in the background, murder in his eyes. That made Daniel think… Was Johnny Lawrence really that bad a guy? Was it Johnny or was it Kreese's influence on Johnny that caused the teenager to bully him back then? Maybe Johnny truly had changed. His son clearly made Samantha extremely happy, and that was enough to make Daniel actually consider giving Johnny a second chance.

At that moment, Daniel opened the door and walked onto the karate mat. There was one other person at the corner of the mat practising some kicks, but Daniel couldn't see who it was as his back was facing him.

"Oh, I'm really sorry to disturb you sir!" Daniel said, and he started to head for the exit when the man turned to face him. When Daniel saw the man's face, his heart dropped… it was none other than Johnny Lawrence himself.

"You…." Johnny growled, his eyes wide in surprise, but the surprise was quickly turning to anger.

"Johnny, I, um…" Daniel never got to finish his sentence because before he could, Johnny lunged at him…


	18. Chapter 18

_**CHAPTER 18** _

Johnny charged at Daniel in a fit of rage. All of the resentment that Johnny had carried for 45 years came bubbling to the surface. The humiliation he felt at the hands of the man. The misery. Losing Alli… Losing the tournament… It was all Daniel's fault.

Johnny tackled Daniel to the ground, and he was about to pound Daniel when Daniel's old karate reflexes finally kicked in. He blocked Johnny's punches and kicked Johnny in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. Daniel scrambled to his feet and the two men circled each other.

"Same old Johnny Lawrence, huh?" Daniel snapped. "You know, I actually thought for a moment that you grew up. Learned how to solve conflicts with your words rather than your fists. But no. You just can't let the past be the past. "

"Pretty rich coming from you, Larusso. Chopping Prices, Kicking the competition… is your life that sad that you still have to milk that one illegal victory you got 45 years later?" Johnny shot back. Daniel scowled.

"Hey, that win was fully legal! I beat you, fair and square." Daniel stated. Johnny shook his head.

"Illegal kick." He growled. "Hey, if you're so confident that you're better than me, why don't we settle this right now. Last man standing."

"You're on." Daniel snapped, getting into a fighting position. "Let's do this. Attack me. You know I'm not gonna strike first!"

"Fine by me." Johnny muttered, before charging at Daniel again.

At this point, Sam and Miguel walked into the room and their eyes widened when they saw the fight going on. The men didn't even notice the two young adults enter the room. They were too preoccupied at trying to tear each other limb from limb. Miguel and Sam winced as the two landed heavy blows at each other. Both were in their 60s, so their defense and reflexes weren't the best, so they were both getting hit A LOT.

"Oh, my God! Should we stop them?!" Sam cried as she watched Daniel land a kick to Johnny's stomach. Miguel turned to her.

"Stop them? Why would we do that? I'm just sorry we don't have popcorn." Miguel replied. Sam glared at him.

"Miguel!" She snapped. Miguel sighed and nodded.

"Fine." He murmured, and he stepped on the mat, easily pulling the two men apart. He was about ten times stronger than them so he wasn't too worried about getting hurt. When Johnny and Daniel were safely away from each other, they took in their surroundings and noticed their two kids standing there.

"What the hell is going on?" Johnny asked, completely at a loss as to why Sam and Daniel were even there, and why Sam and Miguel were standing next to each other. Miguel was still standing close to Johnny in case he tried to pounce again, and Sam was doing the same with her father. Although Sam's plan had worked to an extent - they had successfully gotten their fathers in the same room as one another - it had also backfired greatly when the two had started fighting.

"Look, guys…" Sam started. "It's really important to Miguel and I that you two sort out your issues, but since you both told us that you're never going to even set foot in the same room as the other, we needed a way to trick the two of you into meeting up."

"Wait, I thought you said you and Miguel were breaking up!" Daniel exclaimed. Miguel raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam, who blushed and shook her head.

"No, I, um… I'm sorry, dad. I needed you in the best mood possible before you met Johnny and that meant lying and telling you that we were breaking up."

"Wow, that... stings." Miguel remarked, drily.

"And you…" Johnny said, turning to Miguel. "We spent the entire day shooting targets with the Larussos' faces on them! You're telling me that was all a ploy to get me a good mood?!"

"Wait… what?!" Sam exclaimed, spinning around to face Miguel with an incredulous look on her face. Miguel shrugged.

"What? You told me to get him in a good mood!" Miguel said.

"Yeah, but… you didn't have to shoot me!" Sam stated.

"Hey, don't worry, I didn't kill you. I just shot you in the arms a bunch." Miguel said.

"Aww, I'm flattered." Sam remarked, sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Okay, whatever. We're getting off-topic. The point is, you guys actually have so much in common. You two are the only people in the Valley who actually care about Karate that much."

"Yeah, and it's honestly pretty sad that you two still harbor a grudge against each other from 45 years ago." Miguel remarked. "I mean put it this way. When your grudge started, Freddie Mercury was still alive. The Macintosh had first been released. The mobile phone weighed a kilo. Sam and I weren't even born for another 20 years! Is it too much to ask that 45 years later, you two are civil with each other long enough to get a drink?"

Johnny and Daniel glared daggers at each other for several long moments, before they relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, okay, fine. One drink." Johnny muttered. The four then started walking towards the door in silence, but Miguel decided to break it by talking.

"You know, I don't understand you guys' obsession with Karate. It's like one of the weakest Martial Arts." Miguel remarked. Simultaneously, both Johnny and Daniel stopped walking and slowly turned to Miguel, massive scowls on their faces.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that." Johnny said. Miguel shrugged.

"I'm serious. If you get into a street fight, your first instinct isn't about to be 'ooh, let me whip out the crane kick on this dude.'" Miguel stated.

"Seriously?!" Daniel exclaimed, turning to Johnny. "Have you been teaching him nothing all these years?"

Johnny shook his head.

"It's not that I didn't try. He just didn't listen." Johnny chuckled. Miguel smiled to himself. His plan was working. He was getting Daniel and Johnny to bond over the one thing they had in common.

"Miguel, you might want to back down. You're not going to win this argument." Sam laughed. "I've had this argument with my dad at least 10 times and I haven't won yet."

"That's right, you haven't, because Karate is the greatest sport in history. It's a sport about honor. Bravery. Courage. Strength." Daniel said.

"Really? Cause to me, Karate is a sport for people who are too weak to play any actual sport like football, and whose parents want a way to stop their child from getting bullied in high school." Miguel replied, eliciting a gasp and glare from Johnny and Daniel, and a snicker from Sam.

"Too weak? Okay, that's it. Miguel, me and you. Sparring. Right here. Right now." Johnny said, walking back towards the mat.

"Yeah, as much I hate to say this, I'm with Johnny on this one." Daniel said. "Add me to the queue to fight you next. Karate is so much more than you're making it out to be and you need to learn that."

Sam looked at Miguel and surreptitiously winked at him. She knew exactly what Miguel was doing, and it was actually working. He was slowly uniting Johnny and Daniel.

"Yeah, sure. Let's do it." Miguel said, stepping onto the mat and facing Johnny.

"Come on! Kick his ass, Johnny!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Hey, you know there were a couple of people who did Karate in SEAL training?" Miguel said.

"Really?" Johnny asked, intrigued. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah. Of course they all were so weak they either got kicked out or dropped out within the first month." Miguel finished cheekily. Johnny and Daniel scowled at him.

"Okay, let's get him." Johnny murmured. The two bowed and began sparring…

Although Johnny had more experience, he was in his 60s, whereas Miguel was in his physical prime. In addition, while being a handyman like Johnny required a little bit of strength, it was NOTHING compared to the physical strength and fighting skill required to be a SEAL. Needless to say, it was hardly a fair fight. The second Johnny had thrown his first punch, Miguel had locked onto his arm and flipped him to the mat, pinning him down and winking at him, before letting him up. The two went several rounds, but each round lasted less than ten seconds as Miguel easily beat Johnny.

"I'm telling you, Johnny. Krav Maga beats Karate any day." Miguel smirked. Daniel then stepped onto the mat.

"Okay, my turn." Daniel said, facing Miguel. "You know, Miguel? Karate isn't all about striking and kicking. It's about inner peace. That's why Johnny's style of Karate fails slightly."

"Uh huh. Just one thing though… if you're in a street fight, I don't think your attacker is going to let you sit down and meditate for a half hour before fighting you." Miguel stated.

As soon as the two bowed, Daniel started balancing on one leg, preparing for a crane kick. Miguel raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what Daniel was doing. Before Daniel could pull off the move, Miguel rapidly swept Daniel's other leg, causing the man to fall backwards and onto the mat. Miguel held out a hand and helped him up.

"I told you. No Karate is going to save you in a street fight." Miguel remarked. Daniel stood back up and faced Miguel.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Daniel replied, and as Miguel threw a punch at Daniel, Daniel sent a blow to the bottom of Miguel's arm, causing Miguel's arm to spasm and fall limp beside him. Despite Miguel's best efforts, he couldn't move his arm, and his distraction gave Daniel the opportunity to immobilise the other one.

"What the hell? I can't move my arms!" Miguel exclaimed in a panic. Daniel kicked Miguel, who stumbled over and fell onto the floor. He was frantically trying to regain movement in his arms, and as Daniel stood over him triumphantly, Miguel slowly felt his arms begin to move again. Daniel helped him up, and Miguel looked at him, his eyes wide.

"See, Miguel. I told you. Karate always wins." Daniel replied.

"Wow, what in the world was that?!" Miguel asked, eagerly.

"That was one of the secret moves of Miyagi-Do Karate, the most powerful style of Martial Arts out there."

"Okay, I gotta admit. That was badass." Miguel remarked, before shaking out his shoulder and wincing. "Ow. That was so weird."

"If an enemy insists on war, then you take away their ability to wage it." Daniel replied. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I could use that drink."

They all agreed and started walking out the room. As they were walking out, Sam strided over to Miguel and looked at him.

"I still can't believe you spent the day shooting targets with our faces on them! Like who does that?!"

"Hey, you told your dad we broke up! Tomato, tom-ah-to." Miguel shot back.

"Call it even?" Sam laughed. Miguel nodded and draped an arm around her.

"Deal…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight… Johnny, you ran your then-girlfriend's stereo over with a motorcycle, just because she wasn't talking to you?" Miguel asked as the four of them sat at a bar later that night. The tension level between Johnny and Daniel had dropped quite a bit and Sam and Miguel were learning the unbiased story of everything that had happened between their dads during high school.

Johnny nodded and Miguel chuckled.

"Wow, you really were an asshole back then, huh?" Miguel remarked.

"See, Johnny! Even your own kid agrees!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Well, Dad, you weren't exactly a bundle of roses either. You said that you attacked Johnny's friends in the middle of a soccer game. And you sprayed water all over Johnny on Halloween." Sam stated.

"Hey! The water hose and the soccer game were the least of it! Johnny and his gang terrorised me the whole year!" Daniel cried.

"You know what my favourite part was? The fact that you guys genuinely thought that karate was the way to end your rivalry." Miguel stated. "Like you were basically asking for trouble!"

"Yeah, what's the big deal about Karate anyways? Why was it such a big thing back then?" Sam asked. Johnny and Daniel both smiled faintly.

"Back then, Karate in the Valley was like Football in Texas." Daniel said.

"Or like soccer in Ecuador." Johnny added, glancing at Miguel. Miguel raised an eyebrow and whistled.

"Wait… really? That's crazy." Miguel stated. "Football in Ecuador… it's like religion down there."

"That was Karate in the Valley." Daniel nodded. "It was beautiful. All of the different dojos. The competition. The atmosphere."

"Yeah, it really was." Johnny agreed. "That feeling of winning the All-Valley and lifting the trophy in the air… it's just the best feeling in the world."

"And I'm sorry, how is this more special than any other sport?" Miguel asked.

"Well, because Karate's for everyone. In football, you have to be big. In basketball, you have to be tall."

"Well that's not true. The best receiver in the NFL is only 5'11. And the NBA player Muggsy Bogues was only 5'3." Miguel said.

"Miguel, just… just… shut up, okay?" Johnny laughed. Miguel chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, so that was the best part about Karate. All ages, all genders, all ethnicities… it didn't matter. Everyone loved the sport."

"Hey, I have an idea." Sam said. "You guys should open one of those Karate schools together!"

"It's called a dojo." Daniel and Johnny said simultaneously.

"Why would we do that? We have nothing in common." Daniel said.

"Actually, you do. You two are the only people in the Valley who care this much about Karate." Miguel replied. "And you know? Maybe having such different approaches is a good thing. It's like in a SEAL platoon… in a platoon, you're not all going to be snipers. It's just 3 of us. The rest of the platoon are close quarters combat fighters, drivers, medics and everything in between. Different strengths are what create an unstoppable unit."

"Yeah, Johnny could teach the best of what he was taught as a kid, and dad, you could teach the best of what you learned." Sam continued. "And besides, you both are at retirement age so probably won't be working that much longer. This could be both of your next steps in life. Karate's been dead in the Valley since the two of you were in high school. Maybe you could bring it back."

Johnny and Daniel looked at each other and didn't say anything. Miguel and Sam could tell that they were both considering it.

"Well, while you both are stewing on that, Miguel and I are going to get the next round." Sam said, standing up and pulling Miguel towards the bar. He followed her and the two sat at the bar, ordering the drinks and chatting. Johnny and Daniel looked up and saw their kids.

"You know, I don't think they're breaking up anytime soon, no matter what we tell them about each other." Johnny remarked. Daniel sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, guess we're gonna have to learn how to live with each other eventually." Daniel replied. Johnny took a deep breath.

"Hey, um… for what's worth man, I'm really sorry for the shit I did to you back in high school." Johnny eventually murmured. Daniel's eyes widened. Never in a million years did he ever expect to hear the words 'I'm Sorry' escaping Johnny Lawrence's lips.

"It's… it's fine, man." Daniel replied. Johnny shook his head.

"No, it's not. I got too involved in Kreese's bullshit and I became an asshole to everyone around me. I just want you to know… Miguel's not like that. He's nothing like I was. Miguel wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Isn't he a Navy SEAL sniper? I think he's shooting a lot more than flies in his job." Daniel said. Him, like Mr. Miyagi, didn't approve of violence so he wasn't a huge fan of Miguel's job. Johnny shook his head.

"Maybe so, but he doesn't fight because he hates Afghanistan or Iraq or any of the shithole places he gets deployed to. According to him, and I quote, a true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

"Miguel said that?" Daniel asked, surprised and impressed. Johnny nodded.

"Yup. He cares about family and people more than anything in the world. He fights to keep them safe. Trust me, he's a really great guy."

Daniel looked up and saw Sam and Miguel sitting and laughing at the bar, their hands intertwined. He saw how happy Sam looked. He had never seen her look so happy in her life. And, for the first time, he saw past the block he had made about Miguel due to Miguel's father, and he saw how genuine and sincere a person Miguel was. After all, despite the fact that Daniel had been the opposite of welcoming to him, Miguel had stuck around and kept trying to get Johnny and Daniel to get along. He must really care about Sam.

"I'm sure he is." Daniel replied. "And about what Sam said about us starting a dojo together someday in the future… would that be something you'd be open to?"

"Maybe. You?"

Daniel smirked before responding…

"Maybe…"


	19. Chapter 19

**1 year ago…**

_It was Miguel's first week as Chief Petty Officer in SEAL Team 2, and he already had a mission. Miguel was nervous to say the least. Although he had been on several missions before as a soldier, this was the first mission in which he would be leading his platoon._

_Miguel entered the briefing room, and a platoon of new recruits, as well as his lieutenant, were already there. Miguel sat down at one of the chairs and listened intently to the lieutenant._

_"OK, men. We have a high-priority mission. I'm sure all of you are familiar with this man," he said turning the projector on. Abu Bakar Bin Asif, one of the leaders of the Talaban's, face filled the screen. Miguel immediately tensed up. This was a huge mission, and one that they couldn't afford to screw up. As if reading his mind, the lieutenant turned to him._

_"Diaz, if you want, you can pass the mission onto another platoon. It is your first week as Chief Petty Officer after all." He said. Miguel shook his head._

_"No. I want to do this." He replied. "I've been training for these very situations for ages. So what's the game plan?"_

_"You are going to helicopter into the compound he's staying at. You're going to storm the compound and assassinate him. You are cleared for maximum engagement. Eliminate anyone who gets in the way, but try not to kill innocent people. He probably will be armed, and probably will have a child wearing a suicide vest. Make sure you take care of it. Miguel is the in-field leader, but you'll have us in your ear the whole time. All that matters in this mission is that you take out the target…"_

_Miguel left the room moments later to prepare for the mission, and he was quickly joined by his two best friends: Eli and Tyler._

" _Hey, man. You ready for the mission?" Tyler, a 6'2 African-American man, asked. Miguel nodded and looked at his best friend._

_"Hey, buddy, you sure you don't want to sit this one out?" Miguel asked Tyler. Tyler raised an eyebrow._

_"Um… what?" He asked. Miguel sighed._

_"Well, isn't Sarah 9 months pregnant?" Miguel said, referring to Tyler's wife. He knew that Tyler's wife was due to give birth really soon._

" _Yeah, she is. Her due date's next Thursday." Tyler replied. Miguel nodded._

_"Exactly. Don't you want to be with her?" Miguel remarked._

_"Yeah, I do. And I'll be with her starting tomorrow. We've been tracking this bastard for years. We finally have him. I want to be there to end it. But I mean… you're the boss. If you force me to stay here, I'll stay here."_

_Miguel thought for several moments before looking back at his friend._

_"Look, it's up to you, man. Are you sure you want to come? I won't judge you if you want to stay home." Miguel said. Tyler clenched his jaw in determination._

" _I'm coming…"  
_

**Present day…**

Miguel woke up and immediately groaned, pulling the covers over his face. It had been exactly 1 year since Tyler had died, and it wasn't getting any easier. In fact, today, when Miguel woke up, he immediately felt a block of lead cement around his heart. This block wasn't just made up of sadness and missing his friend; it was also primarily guilt. His best friend was dead, and it was all his fault.

Miguel eventually rolled out of bed and after taking a quick shower, he slowly trudged into the kitchen, where Johnny was sitting and drinking a cup of coffee. Johnny smiled at Miguel when he walked into the room, but his smile faded when he saw his son's troubled expression.

"Hey, what's up with you? I would've thought you'd be in a better mood after getting Larusso and I to see eye-to-eye." Johnny said.. Miguel looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Miguel asked. He was pretty out of it and hadn't really heard what Johnny said.

"You look like crap." Johnny stated. Miguel glared at him.

"Gee, thanks man." Miguel snapped, sarcastically. "Look, please today… just fuck off, alright? I don't need this today."

Johnny's eyes widened. Miguel was normally so passive, and it was weird and alarming to see him so aggressive.

"Dude, you okay?" Johnny asked, concerned. Miguel sighed and looked down.

"Look, I'm sorry. Just a lot on my mind today. A, um… a close friend of mine died a year ago today while on a mission I was leading." Miguel murmured. Johnny's eyes widened. He put a comforting hand on Miguel's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, man." Johnny said. Miguel shrugged.

"It's fine. That's life, right. Never ceases to surprise." Miguel replied. "I just have to go to the service his wife is throwing today."

"Well, do you want me to come with you? Or at least call Sam so you aren't going alone." Johnny said. Miguel shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though. I'm going with a friend who also knew the guy well." Miguel said.

"Okay. See you soon." Johnny said. Miguel nodded at him and tied his tie on his Navy uniform, before putting on his jacket and coat and heading towards the door.

"See you…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

_A couple of hours later, Miguel clambered onto a helicopter, along with Eli, Tyler and their platoon of nervous rookies. Miguel's stomach was in turmoil, but he forced himself to stay calm, not only for himself, but also for the platoon of rookies who were on their first mission, and were incredibly anxious. They had not yet seen gunfire, not yet killed a man, not yet experienced any of the horrors of warfare. Miguel almost felt sorry for them. Half an hour later, Miguel and his platoon arrived at the compound, and they hovered over. It was 4 am, so the compound was dead silent. Miguel and his recruits stealthily shimmied down a rope and they prepared to storm the compound. Miguel silently mouthed and gestured to his troops._

_"3…"_

_They all cocked their guns._

_"2…"_

_"1…"_

_"Go… go… go."_

_The breacher blasted a hole through the door, and half of the troops stormed into the building, while the other half stayed outside, securing the perimeter. The minute they entered the building, Miguel knew that something was wrong. There were A LOT of men pointing their guns at them. A hell of a lot more than they expected. Miguel and his men immediately split up and dived for cover. They were spread pretty thin, and Miguel dragged one of his men down next to him for cover: Tyler._

_"You okay?" Miguel asked quickly. Tyler shakily nodded._

_"What the fuck is going on?!" Miguel screamed into his mic that was connected to the officers in their military base. A calm, collected voice entered the line._

_"Miguel, we were fed bad intel. There are approximately double the hostiles we thought there were. We might have enough manpower to complete the mission, we might not. You have eyes on the situation. It's your call. Do we proceed or do we extract? Proceeding risks the lives of our men, but extracting would just make us look like a bunch of cunts on the world stage. Also, there's no guarantee we get out alive if we pull out now"_

_Miguel's brain was working at a mile a minute, weighing up the pros and cons of proceeding vs extracting early. Finally he came to a decision._

_"We're continuing as planned." He said in a grave but stern voice. Tyler's eyes widened as he looked at Miguel, but didn't dare argue with his commanding officer._

_"Affirmative." the Lieutenant confirmed._

Miguel dragged himself out of his flashback as he drove towards the church/cemetery where Tyler's family were holding the ceremony. Tyler's death was all Miguel's fault. Miguel made the call to continue the mission so in his eyes and in Tyler's family's eyes, Tyler's blood was on his hands. Miguel, who used to be an extremely close friend to Tyler and his wife, was now his wife's enemy. He wasn't even invited to pay his respects to his late best friend, but he wanted to go anyway. He wanted to say a final goodbye.

Almost as soon as Miguel parked his car at the church and got out, he saw Eli walking over to him, a frown on his face.

"Hey." Miguel murmured.

"Hey. Um… what are you doing here?" Eli asked, nervously. Miguel sighed.

"I wanted to say a final goodbye to him because I never got to go to the funeral." Miguel replied. "Look, I know I'm not the family's favourite person in the world, but…"

"Yeah, you're NOT their favourite person in the world! In fact, you're probably their least favourite person in the world!"

"You don't think I know that?!" Miguel shouted. "You don't think I feel guilty?! You don't think I want to kill myself every time I think about the mission?! I became the person I swore I'd never become… the person who prioritizes a mission over people! We completed the mission but at what cost? 11/16 soldiers died! Me, you and only 3 other people survived! You don't think that weighs on me every day?!"

"Miguel, you made the difficult decision that not many commanders can make. That bastard we took out was the mastermind behind the suicide bombings in Paris, Kabul and Kenya. He killed hundreds of innocent civilians. We lost 11 soldiers who knew exactly what they were getting into when they enlisted. That's what war is! There are always casualties!"

Miguel eventually nodded, a stray tear rolling down his face.

"Look, I want to go inside." Miguel firmly said, pointing to the door of the chapel. Eli sighed and reluctantly led Miguel into the church. Miguel stood in the corner of the room and listened as Tyler's old Lieutenant gave a eulogy.

"Tyler Manson was a good man. A true soldier. And one of the best shots I ever encountered. Tyler was the opposite of pretentious… whatever that was. He was humble. He just wanted to get the job done and see his family."

Suddenly, Tyler's Lieutenant was cut off when Tyler's late wife Sarah stood up with a start. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the corner of the room, where Miguel was standing. Slowly, everyone turned around to follow her gaze, and they all gasped when they saw Miguel there, and started muttering quietly amongst themselves. Sarah slowly walked towards Miguel, who stared at the ground in shame as he could feel the hate that all of Tyler's family and friends had towards him radiating off of them. As Sarah approached him, Miguel looked at her.

"Look, Sarah, I, um… I…"

Miguel never got a chance to speak. Before he could, a deafening SLAP rang out across the room, and Miguel felt a stinging pain to his cheek.

"How dare you come here, you son of a bitch!" Sarah growled. "You're the reason he's not here!"

"I know. I'm so sorry." Miguel whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Get out." Sarah snapped. "GET OUT NOW!"

At this point, Miguel nodded and slowly retreated out of the chapel…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

" _Listen up, men. We're continuing with this mission. We're not pulling out." Miguel said calmly into his ear piece as he spoke to his troops. "They've got us out-numbered and out-gunned so we need to approach this tactically. We need to regroup."  
_

_Moments later, Miguel, Tyler, Eli and 2 other soldiers managed to regroup in one of the rooms. They knew they didn't have much time before Abu Bakar Bin Asif managed to escape the compound so they needed to move FAST. After giving them careful instructions, Miguel took a deep, calming breath. He needed to make it out the mission alive. He had just started dating Sam and he couldn't afford to die._

_"Okay, ready?" Miguel murmured, cocking his gun and looking at his troops. They nodded. "Let's do this…"_

_Miguel fired a couple of rounds of cover fire to halt the hostiles and the group of SEALs charged out of their hiding spot, shooting anyone they could see but staying in their tight formation like they had been taught millions of times in BUDs._

_The elite SEALs quickly turned the first corner. There was a man standing there, holding an Uzi. Miguel quickly put two bullets between his eyes. He crumpled like a rag doll and didn't get up. They continued and reached a fork. Miguel and Tyler went left and Eli and the other two soldiers went right. Miguel and Tyler proceeded to a staircase, where two men were waiting. Miguel took out one and Tyler took out another. They climbed the staircase to the second floor and approached a large room. There was one man in that room but Miguel didn't have a shot as he was holding a child in front of him, like a shield. Miguel thought fast and shot him in the shin. He yelled and dropped the child. Tyler and Miguel both shot the man in the head. The innocent child watched with a terrified expression on his face as the two men advanced past him and to the staircase._

_They climbed to the third floor where they were met by Eli and the two rookies. They could hear many loud voices in the room so they tensed up, ready for a battle. Miguel quickly kicked the door open. All hell broke loose…_

**_To be continued..._ **


	20. Chapter 20

Miguel wandered out of the chapel and back onto the street. After being thrown out, he didn't want to get straight back into the car and drive away. He needed to clear his head, so he decided to go for a long walk. After around an hour and a half of slow walking, ignoring his phone's incessant buzz in his pocket, Miguel sat on a nearby bench, looking up at the setting sun and pondering… what would have happened if he had made the call to extract his men at the start of the mission? 12 deaths that could've been prevented. Tyler would still be alive. Sarah wouldn't be a widow. Their son wouldn't be without a dad. So much blood shed and so many lives torn to shreds, and it was all on him.

Twilight turned to dusk and soon, the sun's fierce shine was replaced by that of streetlights twinkled all around the streets. Miguel was about to get up and begin to walk back towards his car, but just as he got up and started to walk back towards his car, two large hooded figures followed him into an alley. Miguel sighed. He knew what was about to happen but he wasn't at all scared.

"Give us your wallet, keys and phone and you don't have to get hurt…"

_Ten men and 5 women and a child were armed with guns pointing at them. Miguel took out 3 of the men, 3 of the women and the child. The other men eliminated the others. To their surprise, Bin Asif was not anywhere to be found._

_"Where the hell is he? Did he manage to flee?" Eli asked, furious._

_Miguel scanned the room. He had always had the ability to see things others couldn't so he searched for any sign of the target. Miguel shook his head and pointed to the back of the room._

_"Look at the pattern and handprints. Fake wall." He murmured. He reloaded his gun and quickly strapped a small explosive to the wall. The SEALs stood back and Miguel detonated the charge. It exploded, revealing a secret room._

_"Nice find, Hudson," he heard Lieutenant Anderson say in his ear. Miguel couldn't really hear him though. He was too laser-focused. He stepped through the rubble and he locked eyes with the target. For a split second, he couldn't believe what he was about to do. He was staring into the eyes of one of the most dangerous men in the world. He looked into the man's eyes, expecting to see fear, anger, or regret in the man's eyes. Anything that showed that he was still human. But there was nothing. Just cold, unblinking eyes. Suddenly, the terrorist made a sudden motion and Miguel put two bullets in his head and one in the heart. Bin Asif collapsed and Miguel searched him for any weapons. The terrorist did not carry a gun, but had a dagger strapped to his belt. Miguel removed the weapon and carried the limp body out of the room, where the other men were waiting. He laid the corpse down at the center of the room. They were waiting for confirmation from the command center that they had the right man, although they were pretty sure they had him. Sure enough, a minute later, Lieutenant Anderson confirmed that they had completed the mission and they were ready for extraction._

_One of the two rookies grabbed the limp corpse and carried him out the room as the group prepared for their escape. They had eliminated every hostile in the house, but they had also lost a large number of their soldiers. Out of the 15 that had entered the building, they were the only 5 still alive. They had lost 10 men. But they couldn't dwell on that right now. They knew very well that the mission is only over when they are back on U.S soil._

_The 5 SEALs tiptoed down the stairs of the house and walked towards the entrance, weary of any alive hostiles that could be lurking around. They couldn't see any though. They were halfway to the entrance of the house, still locked in their rigid star formation, when Miguel suddenly saw a flash of movement. He spun around to see a dying enemy using the last of his strength to grab a grenade from his belt, pull the pin, and toss it at the SEALs…_

One of the two men took out a switchblade and held it to Miguel's stomach, but Miguel still didn't move an inch. He just stared at the two men. They were both built bigger than him, but Miguel knew that he was a lot stronger, and a better fighter.

When Miguel didn't move for several moments, the men looked at him, slightly confused.

"I don't think you heard me. Your money or your life." The man growled again. Miguel still didn't lose his calm. He looked tired more than scared.

"Look, please just turn around and walk away. For your own sakes. You're pissing off the wrong guy on the wrong day." Miguel murmured.

"Shut the fuck up, loser." The other man snapped, shoving him backwards. Miguel sighed and balled his hands into fists. He then lunged at the two men, kicking the unarmed man and sending that man crashing to the sidewalk before turning to the man with the knife. He expertly dodged and weaved as the man slashed at him, and he quickly grabbed the man's arm in a wristlock, breaking the man's wrist and causing the knife to fall out of his limp hand and onto the ground. The man screamed in pain as his wrist snapped, his cries echoing through the abandoned alley. Miguel wasn't done yet though as the other man had just gotten up, and charged at him. The men were terrified of Miguel at this point so they were hesitant to attack again. All it took was a couple of punches and kicks to take both men to the ground. Miguel was in the process of choking out the only conscious man when suddenly, the street was illuminated with red and blue lights, and the sounds of police sirens sliced through the air like knives. Before Miguel could react, he felt himself being roughly shoved to the ground by the police, and he was instantly terrified and complied. He knew that the police wouldn't be taking too kindly to a brown, Latino man in a random dark alley, beating the crap out of two white guys in the middle of the night. The last thing he wanted was 5 'warning' shots in his back. Miguel was thrown into a police car and was sped away from the alley…

_5 seconds. That's how long they had until the grenade exploded, killing them all. They all looked around in a panic. They were too far away from any door or window. There was nothing they could. They were going to die, simple as that. The seconds suddenly felt like hours as Miguel's life flashed before his eyes. He had been in a lot of danger in previous missions, but there had never been a point like this where he knew for certain that he was about to die. It was a common conception that when someone was about to die, their whole life flashed before their eyes. The people who said this were wrong. Only the important parts do. And the important people too. Miguel saw himself move from Ecuador to Riverside with his mom and grandma at age 13. He saw himself meeting Johnny and watching him and his mom fall in love and get married. He saw himself graduate from high school. Enlist in the Navy. Graduate from BUDs and SEAL training and become a SEAL. Being promoted to Chief Petty Officer. Meeting Sam…_

_Sam. The two of them had been dating for three months and she had already become one of, if not the most important part of his life. He could picture her extremely clearly. Her captivating eyes. Her beautiful laugh. Her infectious smile. He was never going to see her again. She was going to fall in love with another guy. Get married to him. Have kids with him. Grow old with him. Everything Miguel wanted to do with her. But he wasn't going to get that chance. His time on Earth was done in a matter of seconds._

_Miguel glanced over at his team and Miguel and Tyler locked eyes, and Tyler took a deep breath._

_"Miguel…" Tyler said._

_"Y-yeah?" Miguel stammered._

" _Tell Sarah I love her." Tyler murmured, before sprinting towards the grenade. Miguel's eyes widened when he realised what Tyler was trying to do and he tried to run after his friend to stop him, but it was too late. Tyler leapt on top of the grenade and almost as soon as his stomach made contact with the grenade, it exploded in a massive BANG, the explosion sending Miguel and the other troops flying backwards into the walls but otherwise unharmed. Tyler, however, wasn't so lucky…_

Early the next morning, Miguel was let out of the police station with nothing more than a fine. Thankfully, he had managed to prove the police that he wasn't a drug dealer or a criminal of any sort, and beating up the two guys had been all self-defense.

When Miguel left the police station, he was forced to get into a taxi because his car was still in the car park of the chapel from the night before. He sat in the back of the cab and stared up at the early morning sky. It was an extremely overcast day and it looked like it was about to rain. As a matter of fact, it did start raining moments later, and it was absolutely pouring. Thunder and lightning clapped loudly in the air. It was like the skies had decided to open up.

Miguel got out of the cab when he arrived at the chapel car park, ducking his head down as he didn't have a jacket nor an umbrella as he had spent the night in the police station. He was still wearing his Navy formal uniform, but a combination of the fight, the rain and spending the night in a holding cell had made him look absolutely unrecognisable - he looked like absolute crap.

When Miguel made it over to where his car used to be, he groaned in annoyance when he saw that it was no longer there. What had happened? Was it stolen? No, that was impossible! There was a 24/7 guard who watched over the parking lot. Miguel walked over to him.

"Hey! Where the hell's my car?!" Miguel snapped, seriously annoyed now. It had been such a long day, possibly one of the worst and longest of his life and his patience was running thin now.

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" The security guard remarked sarcastically at Miguel's rude tone. "Look, this is why everyone always says write down your parking spot number. It makes it much easier to find your car afterwards."

"No, dumbass, someone stole my car!" Miguel growled, pissed off. The security guard glared at him, and realisation flashed across his face moments later.

"Oh, let me guess… Black 2019 Jeep Wrangler?" The guard asked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, exactly. Where is it?" Miguel demanded.

"Sorry, man. Your car's been towed." The guard replied.

"WHAT?!" Miguel shouted. "Why?!"

"The rule's very clear. No overnight parking. Didn't you read the sign?" The guard asked, pointing to the large sign at the front of the lot.

"Look, I'm well aware of your dumbass rules, but it's not my fault! I was arrested last night…"

"Why am I not surprised?" The guard muttered under his breath. Miguel glared at him and continued.

"So it wasn't like I could drive my car." Miguel snapped.

"Sorry, buddy. Not our fault. We're just following the rules." The guard said, raising his hands innocently.

"Whatever. Where is my car now?" Miguel growled. The guard handed Miguel a slip of paper.

"It's in the NYPD impound lot in Inglewood." The guard replied. Miguel's eyes widened.

"SERIOUSLY?! That's like all the way across the city!" Miguel exclaimed. "How the fuck am I supposed to get there?! My phone's dead."

"Well, I could try and call you an uber but oh wait, my phone just ran out of battery." The security guard lied. His phone wasn't out of battery. It was just Miguel seemed like kind of a dick and he didn't want to call the man an uber. Miguel knew that too.

"Dick." Miguel muttered under his breath, before walking back onto the main road in the pouring rain. He was completely drenched in water at this point, and he practically dove onto the nearest local bus he could find that headed in the direction of the impound lot. As Miguel sat at the back corner of the bus, he closed his eyes and listened to the music playing. Ironically, it was the song Bad Day by Daniel Powter.

'Cause you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me, "don't lie"

You work at a smile, and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down, and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day

It wasn't just a bad day for Miguel. It was a god-awful fucking shit day. Definitely one of the worst of his life. Everything that could possibly go wrong did. First he was kicked out of the funeral. Then he was arrested. Then he was forced to spend the night in the police station. Then his car was towed. Then he was forced to run to the bus in the rain. It was a series of unfortunate events that hadn't even yet culminated. There was just one day worse than this one in Miguel's entire life…

_With a sickening CRUNCH, all of the shrapnel from the grenade embedded itself inside Tyler, causing him to scream out in pain and causing blood to erupt out of him like a volcano from hell. His left arm had been completely severed above his elbow and he convulsed and shuddered on the ground. Miguel immediately rushed over to him, attempting to slow the bleeding and use his first aid training to help him, but it was useless. Tyler was on death's door, and would probably be overtaken any moment now. That didn't stop Miguel from trying though. He only stopped when he heard Tyler's raspy voice._

" _Miguel." Tyler murmured, his voice dripping with pain. Miguel temporarily slowed his desperate healing and looked into his friend's eyes._

" _Yeah, buddy?" Miguel asked. Tyler coughed up blood for several moments before he managed to gather the strength to utter his final words._

" _Make sure my family is looked after." He whispered. Miguel nodded, tears leaking out of his eyes._

" _Yeah, of course. I swear." Miguel replied. With that, Tyler lay back and let death overtake him…_

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon was relatively uneventful, even if it also sucked. Miguel was forced to pay a massive fine to get his car out of the impound lot, and he then drove to the Larusso house. He saw that both Daniel and Amanda's cars were out, but Sam's was thankfully still in the driveway. He rang the bell and moments later, Sam opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Miguel looked like hell. Not only were his clothes completely wrecked, his eyes were sunken, his knuckles were still inflamed from the fight, and his hair was completely dishevelled.

"Oh, my God! Miguel, are you okay?!" Sam exclaimed.

Sam then noticed Miguel's bloodshot eyes and realised that Miguel had been crying, but the rain had disguised it. She immediately rushed forward and embraced him tightly. She felt him completely break down in her arms, and she pulled him into the house, getting him out of the freezing cold. After taking a hot shower at and putting on a clean, dry set of clothing that he had at Sam's place, Miguel slowly walked out and saw Sam sitting on her bed, waiting for him. She immediately stood up and walked over to him.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sam asked. Miguel nodded.

"Much. Thank you so much for letting me shower here. It's been a long day." Miguel murmured, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Yeah, um… do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked. Miguel shook his head.

"Not particularly." Miguel replied. Sam sighed. Getting Miguel to open up had always been like prying teeth.

"Come on, Miguel. It could help. What happened?" Sam asked. Miguel reluctantly sighed and opened up to her about everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. He didn't tell her the specifics of Tyler's death, but he had just said the same as he had told Johnny the moment before: his friend had died and it was his fault. By the end, Sam was speechless in shock. It clearly had been an awful day for him.

"So yeah, then I got here. Pretty bad day, huh?" Miguel remarked.

"Wow, um, babe… I'm so sorry. That's not just one bad day. That's like a month of bad days crammed into one!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel sighed and shrugged.

"That's life, right?" He murmured. Miguel didn't catch what Sam said next though. He had turned his head to look at Sam's side table and his eyes had locked onto her open laptop. His jaw dropped when he saw the website that was on screen. Sam was looking at one bedroom apartment listings in San Diego.

"Hey, Sam?" Miguel said, extremely confused.

"Yeah?" Sam said.

"Um… why are you looking at apartment listings in San Diego?" Miguel asked. Sam's heart dropped. She was SO busted…


	21. Chapter 21

"So hold on, hold on, let me get this straight…" Miguel murmured, struggling to stay calm as he took in the bombshell Sam had just laid on him. "You're moving all the way from the East Coast to the West Coast, to San Diego, and you were planning to tell me, your boyfriend, all of this when? When you had already been living there for a year or two?"

"Look, Miguel, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you earlier!" Sam cried. "It all happened really fast and…"

"Yeah, when did this all happen? When did you decide to uproot your whole life and move across the country?" Miguel asked. Sam looked down.

"I, um… I was offered the job right after Thanksgiving." Sam mumbled, knowing that Miguel was not going to react well to this fact. Sure enough, his eyes widened.

"Thanksgiving… wait, that would mean that this all happened two months ago?! You knew about this for two whole months and you didn't tell me?!" Miguel exclaimed. Sam looked down in shame.

"Yeah, it, uh… it was when you were in Afghanistan and had just been extended. I didn't want to tell you over the phone and mess with your head and risk you getting hurt in the field."

"And I appreciate that Sam, but we've spent practically every moment in the past week and a half together. You couldn't have told me at some point during that time?"

"Well, I wanted to, but..."

"Oh, you wanted to, huh? And that's why I'm finding out about this now, only two days before I have to fly back to the other coast!" Miguel snapped.

"Miguel, I swear I wanted to, but then it was just one thing after another with our parents's drama and…"

"And you couldn't spare 5 seconds to tell me 'Miguel, I'm moving to San Diego'? 6 words! Literally 6 words, Sam!"

"Miguel, I'm sorry, okay?! I'm really sorry! You deserved to know. I should've told you sooner!"

"Yeah, you're damn right you should've told me sooner!" Miguel spat, before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to stay calm. He knew he had to. If he blew his top, it could potentially have fatal repercussions for their relationship. "So… what does this mean for us? Our relationship?"

"Well… you could move with me. We could get an apartment together!" Sam suggested. Miguel shook his head.

"I mean, I'd love to, but it's not that easy. I have a job and commitments that I have to fulfill on the East Coast. I can't just uproot my life."

"So that leaves us with long distance again." Sam said, looking down. Miguel sighed and sat down on Sam's bed, facing her.

"Look Sam, I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to answer honestly. Do you really want another long distance relationship, this one for God known how long? You know, last year was hard enough, even though we knew it would be a year and then it's over. Do you really want all those long nights sitting over the phone?"

Sam took a deep breath and looked at the defeated expression on Miguel's face. She knew his answer, and he knew hers. Sam eventually shook her head.

"Honestly… no. I know it might make me sound really needy, but I want to wake up next to someone every morning. I want an actual date on Valentines. I want to be able to kiss someone on New Year's. I want a normal life for a change." Sam said. Miguel took her hands in his and nodded.

"You don't sound needy, Sam. Not at all. You deserve all of that. In fact, you deserve so much more than that. You have a light inside of you that brightens the world. A smile so infectious that it captures the heart of anyone lucky enough to see it. And it kills me that I'm not the person able to offer you what you deserve."

"So that's it? We're done, just like that?" Sam asked, tears starting to form in her eyes. Miguel slowly stood up from her bed and nodded.

"I guess. I'm really sorry. Goodbye, Sam." Miguel murmured, before walking out of Sam's room and shutting the door behind him…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As Miguel drove away from Sam's house for the last time, a thought occurred with him… him and Sam were truly over. He was single again. The best relationship of his life was over, just like that. He woke up 24 hours ago blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. This had been hands down one of the worst days of his life for sure. From the very beginning with Tyler's memorial, all the way to now when he just broke up with Sam. He wanted to curl into a ball and fall asleep, hoping that when he woke up, none of this had happened and it was all a nightmare. But he knew he wouldn't get that luxury. Instead, Miguel decided to drive to the nearest bar. As he sat at the bar, his first of probably many shots in his hand, he called up Eli. Thankfully, his best friend wasn't busy and immediately drove over to meet Miguel. He walked into the bar and saw Miguel sitting alone at the corner of the bar.

"Hey." Eli said, sitting down next to him. Miguel didn't say anything, but nodded in acknowledgement. "So I heard you and Sam broke up. I can't believe I'm saying this because you know how much I hate talking, but do you want to talk about it?"

Miguel shook his head.

"Nah, man. I just wanna drink." Miguel replied, gruffly. He didn't feel like crying or feel any sadness yet. He knew that would come later. Right now, he just felt numb. Like his mind was still in shock. Eli nodded and ordered a couple of shots himself. The two sat next to each other in silence and both downed 5 shots, causing both of them to feel numb, but their brains still functioning well. After the five shots, Eli turned to Miguel.

"So… why did you guys break up?" Eli asked, curiously. Although he would NEVER admit this to Miguel, it was devastating for Eli to hear that Miguel and Sam had broken up. Not only did he love how happy Sam had made Miguel, their relationship had also been proof for Eli that despite his job, maybe he could also find love someday. Miguel sighed.

"Well, get this… Sam is moving to San Diego." Miguel murmured. Eli's eyes widened.

"Wait… San Diego, California?" He asked, in shock. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"No, San Diego, Argentina." Miguel snapped, sarcastically. "Of course California, dumbass."

Eli raised his hands in surrender.

"Chill, man. So Sam's moving back to Cali, huh?" He remarked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, not that I blame her. I mean, here's closer to her family. It's a better city to eventually raise a family. Apparently, this new job gives her more flexibility in terms of hours and days off. I mean, even if she stayed in New York, it's not like we would even be living in the same city. It would just be a shorter flight to see each other."

"Right." Eli murmured. He thought for a moment and then realised something. "Wait… San Diego? Why don't you move with her? There's a Naval Base like 15 minutes away in Coronado, right?"

Miguel nodded.

"There is one, but it's not that easy. I can't just put in a transfer tomorrow. It'd mean I'd be switching SEAL teams for the first time in my career. I've been in SEAL Team 2 forever. Switching to 1, 5 or 7 would mean being with an entire group of soldiers and commanders that I don't know or trust."

"I mean, you'd still have me because if you transfer, you better believe I'm coming too. And you and Sam could live together off-base, and you could just come in the morning and leave at night like any other job. And besides, this move could be good for you. You were depressed about only being able to see your family once every couple of years. Well now you'll be closer to them too." Eli stated. Miguel sighed.

"I appreciate it, man. But I can't just switch teams. It just wouldn't work." Miguel said. Eli raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't work, or you just don't want it to work?" He asked. Miguel looked at him and furrowed an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He asked. Eli looked at him and shrugged.

"Look, just tell me… why is it okay for her to make sacrifices for your relationship, but not you. You need to be the one to take the risk, for once. Move to San Diego. You'll have Sam right beside you and me right behind you at all times, watching your 6. So what do you say?"

Miguel looked at his friend for several moments and chuckled.

"You watch way too much Oprah, man." Miguel remarked.

"Hey! It's the only TV available at base!" Eli exclaimed indignantly. Miguel raised an eyebrow questioningly and eventually, Eli sighed. "Okay, fine! She makes me feel good about myself, okay?! You happy?!"

Miguel couldn't help but laugh, and he eventually nodded.

"You know what? Let's do it! Let's move to California!" Miguel exclaimed. Eli cheered and the two men hugged. As they were hugging, Miguel cocked his head, confused, and quickly broke apart from the hug.

"Wait… why am I hugging you? I should be going to talk to Sam now!" Miguel exclaimed as he scrambled to grab his coat and started moving swiftly towards the exit.

"Hey, you know you love me!" Eli called after him. Miguel rolled his eyes and chuckled as he dived into a cab. He couldn't drive as he had drunk one too many shots, but he paid the driver extra to speed to Sam's house as fast as he could. He made it to the Larusso house moments later, and he sprinted up the front porch, banging repeatedly on the front door. Moments later, Sam opened the door, her eyes bloodshot from crying, and her jaw dropped when she saw him there.

"Miguel… what are… what are you doing here?" Sam stammered. Miguel rushed towards her and pulled her into a long kiss. Sam, in shock, returned the kiss, but looked at Miguel, dumbfounded, when they broke apart.

"Sam, I want to move to San Diego with you." Miguel said. Sam's eyes widened.

"You… you what?" She stammered.

"I want to move with you." Miguel repeated, a massive smile etched on his face. "I can transfer to a base 15 minutes away. We can live together and start our lives together there, for real. Sure I won't be around all the time as I'll still have to travel a fair bit, but I can spend a lot more time with you, and by closer to my family at the same time."

A smile slowly started creeping up Sam's face as she took in what Miguel was saying.

"Are you… Are you sure?" Sam asked. Miguel kissed her again and nodded.

"Dead sure…"


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning, Sam and Miguel decided to tell their families the news that they were moving in together. While Miguel's family was really happy for them, Sam's parents were less so. If anything, they were worried, and they were about to tell the young couple why.

"So, we're really happy for the two of you that you guys have decided to take this step in your relationship." Daniel started. Sam looked at them, confused. She could tell from her parents' expressions that there was more to it than that.

"But…" Sam prompted her parents. Her parents raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked.

"Where's the but?" Sam repeated. "You guys have that look on your face. There's definitely something you two want to say. Just say it."

Amanda and Daniel looked at each other and sighed, before reluctantly nodding.

"Okay, fine. We have one small thing." Daniel admitted. Sam chuckled mirthlessly.

"How did I know?" Sam remarked. Amanda nodded.

"Look, here it is… we're really happy that the two of you are moving in together, but we just want you guys to wait until Miguel retires before taking your relationship any further." Amanda said.

"What do you mean? Like getting married?" Miguel asked.

"Getting engaged. Married. Having kids. All of it." Daniel replied. "You're both young. You have plenty of time. We just don't want you guys to rush into things on account of your job, Miguel."

"My job?" Miguel asked, confused.

"Yeah. You can't deny that your job is really dangerous, Miguel." Daniel said. "If anything happens to you, we wouldn't want our daughter to be a war widow."

"Dad! Nothing's going to happen to Miguel!" Sam jumped in trying her best at damage control. "He's going to come back just like you see him right now!"

"You don't know that, Sam." Amanda said, gently.

"Mr. and Mrs. Larusso, if it puts your minds at ease, I'm on sniper overwatch on most missions. I actually don't even see the battlefield in many cases. I'm like 800 yards away. I just scan the surroundings and record movement of enemies." Miguel said.

"Yeah, but I was doing some research last night and please correct me if I'm wrong Miguel but in the military, you're a combat soldier first. They could ask you to do anything in the blink of an eye, and you have to comply, right?" Amanda said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. That's why they put you through Basic Combat Training. I've done just about anything under the sun. But most of my missions are completed as a sniper."

"Look, mom, dad, that doesn't matter! Miguel's going to be fine!" Sam exclaimed.

"You don't know that, sweetie! War changes people! Even if they come back without a scratch they can still be traumatized by what they have seen and had to do. It's called PTSD!" Amanda shot back.

"And what if Miguel's wounded? He could lose a limb or be mentally disabled. All of the emotional stress could lead to mental instability or drug use! People go insane..." Daniel stopped in mid-sentence knowing that he had crossed the line. He could see an angry expression starting to form on Miguel's face. Miguel had lost more troops to mental health issues back home than he had in battles abroad, so he knew exactly how lethal PTSD could be. But someone like Daniel calling these people insane… that was one step too far.

"Dad, that's enough!" Sam raised her voice to her father. She knew exactly what Miguel was thinking - heck, her parents did too - and Sam squeezed his hand gently to calm him down.

"Miguel, I'm so sorry. I should have never said that. I would never say anything to disrespect you or any of your fellow soldiers who have suffered from PTSD." Daniel apologized profusely.

"It's alright." Miguel finally replied softly. "I understand your not wanting your only child tied to mentally, emotionally, or physically disabled husband. I won't hold Sam to the engagement if I don't come back to her in one piece."

Sam was stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing not only from her parents, but from Miguel too.

"We only want what's best for both of you," Amanda said embarrassed.

"What's best for me is Miguel! One piece or not, he's the love of my life. He understands me better than anyone else on Earth. I have found my soul-mate. He's going to come back to me safe and sound!"

"Sam, calm down." Miguel murmured. "They have a point. Eli and I might have come back unharmed from every mission, but not everyone does. I saw my best friend die right before my eyes."

"Tyler was in the infantry; he was on the front lines everyday. He wasn't a sniper." Sam snapped as she stood up, tugging Miguel with her. "I need some fresh air. If either of you need me, Miguel and I'll be at the mall."

Daniel looked at Sam with pleading eyes as she grabbed her coat, and pulled Miguel towards the door, slamming it behind her.

Sam was speechless as they rode to the mall, her anger was still simmering as they found a parking space. When she parked the car, Miguel glanced at Sam and saw the rage still etched on her face. He sighed and took her hand.

"It's okay," Miguel said as he tried to calm Sam down. "You parents have a point, and they only want what's best for you. You're all that they've got."

"That's not true. They have me, they have my brother, and they'll have all of our amazing future children," Sam said, still seething. "I thought they were all for us moving in together."

"They are. They just want to make sure everything turns out okay before we make it, you know… legal and binding. Now let's head into the mall. We need to start looking for stuff for our new place!" Miguel said cheerfully, trying to calm Sam down. "Now come on, just leave a voicemail for your mom and dad to let them know you're okay."

Miguel dialled Daniel's number on the bluetooth car phone but Sam didn't say anything. Sam was quiet for a moment before she turned and looked Miguel straight in the eye.

"Can you get your hands on your birth certificate or your passport right away?" Sam suddenly asked, ignoring the phone in Miguel's hands.

"Yeah, they're at home with all of my import papers, why?" Miguel asked. Sam smirked.

"Well then buckle up, because we're going to swing by your house, and then we're going to go to Vegas, because there's nothing that I want more than to marry you right now. We won't tell anyone. I'd feel so much better with you fighting in God forsaken places if we were married."

Miguel's jaw dropped as he looked at his determined girlfriend.

"Um… what?" Miguel stammered.

"You heard me. Let's go to Vegas and elope tonight." Sam stated. Miguel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and laugh.

"Sam! Are you seri…"

Before Miguel could finish his sentence, a loud BEEP rang through the car as the voicemail recording ended. Sam and Miguel's eyes widened. They had completely forgotten that Miguel had hit record on Voicemail, and the message had automatically sent to Daniel.

"Well, I guess your dad is going to hear all of that." Miguel remarked. Sam nodded.

"Yup. We better start driving now if we want to get to Vegas before him." Sam said, and she was about to reverse out of the lot when Miguel pulled the hand brake, forcing the car to jolt to a halt.

"Sam, stop!" Miguel exclaimed. "You're clearly upset. Your judgement is clouded. This isn't something that you do on the spur of the moment. Don't girls like huge weddings, big white dresses and all that?"

"Sure, but honestly, I'd rather have the extra time as officially your wife than any party we could possibly throw. Now… Do you want to marry me or not?" Sam asked, determined.

"You know I do, but what about the part about not telling anybody? I'm guessing that part's flown out the window when we accidentally voicemailed your dad." Miguel remarked.

"Well, fuck them." Sam replied, vehemently. Miguel choked back a laugh at Sam's tone. "Let's do this." Sam smiled.

"But what about a marriage license?" Miguel asked, still perplexed.

"We can get one from the clerk of court and be married by the justice of the peace all in the same building. All we need are our driver's licenses, certified copies of our birth certificates or our passports. We're both over eighteen."

"What about the rings?" Miguel slowly asked. His mind was whirring and he was starting to genuinely consider the idea.

"We have our ATM cards; we can stop at a jewelry store on the way. Please Miguel, do this for me. I want to be your wife before the Navy sends you off to God knows where," Sam pleaded.

"Are you sure? You've dreamed of a Cinderella wedding since you were a little girl." Miguel asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life," Sam murmured, looking Miguel right in the eye. "So what do you say?"

"Okay, let's do it." Miguel eventually reluctantly responded. Sam smiled, reversing out of the parking spot and speeding out of the lot. Miguel forced on a faint smile back, although his insides were in turmoil. Sure he wanted to marry Sam, but was this really the way?


	23. Chapter 23

" _You heard me. Let's go to Vegas and elope tonight."_

Daniel replayed the message for the thousandth time, this time to Johnny and his wife, Carmen. Amanda and Daniel were in full-panic mode at this point, and Johnny and Carmen swiftly joined them in their panicked state.

"I can't believe they're actually doing this!" Daniel exclaimed.

"No, they wouldn't do this! They have more sense than that, right?" Carmen asked.

"Yeah, they do!" Amanda said. "I mean sure they're both really pissed at us, one of them is about to be going back to a random warzone, they're about to move in together, they're at the age that they'd be thinking about starting a family, they think they don't have our support right now for a big wedding, and… okay, yeah they're definitely doing it." Amanda admitted. Daniel stormed out the room and Amanda quickly followed him into their home dojo. When they made it into the room, Daniel immediately sat in the corner of the room and put his head in his hands. Amanda sat down next to him and Daniel looked at her, a devastated expression on his face. Amanda's own expression mimicked that of her husband's, because she was just as upset.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked her.

"I can't believe our little baby's getting married without us!" Amanda exclaimed.

"I was supposed to give her away." Daniel murmured. "I was supposed to walk her down the aisle and give her husband-to-be a death glare and whisper threats in his ear if he didn't take care of my daughter. 'Cause that's what dads do."

Daniel and Sam had always had an extremely special bond and the fact that Sam had run off to get married and he wouldn't be there was killing him.

"Hey, look, maybe we could stop them. We still have time. Vegas is like 4 hours away. There's no way they've arrived yet! We could catch them!" Amanda said. Daniel nodded and leapt to his feet.

"Damn right we can!" Daniel exclaimed. They ran back into the house, grabbed their wallet, purse, keys etc, and sprinted out the door, only to see Johnny revving the engine of his car and opening the window to talk to Daniel and Amanda.

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Johnny called out the window. Daniel and Amanda nodded and dived into the car, and the four adults took off towards Vegas, hoping desperately to catch their kids before they got married…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel and Sam parked at a casino/hotel/wedding chapel in Vegas 3 hours later, and the two got out of the car and walked inside. Both were extremely excited, yet nervous. This was their wedding day! In less than 5 hours, they would officially be man and wife!

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Miguel asked for the thousandth time as they walked in. Sam looked at him and nodded.

"For the thousandth time, yes I am." Sam said, stopping walking and turning towards him, kissing him. She kissed him for several amazing moments before breaking apart and leaving Miguel speechless. "Now do you want to marry me or not?"

"I, um… I, um… let's do this!" Miguel exclaimed, still flummoxed and disoriented from the amazing kiss but conscious to know that what they were about to do would leave them with regrets, whether it be tomorrow, next month, next year, or even 5, 10 or 15 years from now.

As they walked towards the large 'Wedding Chapel' sign at the back of the hotel, Sam abruptly stopped.

"Are you okay?" Miguel asked as she stopped walking suddenly. Sam then grabbed his hand and pulled him into the casino gift shop.

"Oh, my God." She murmured, her mind finally starting to catch up to her body and realising what they were about to do. "I'm getting married today! This is huge! I… I'm not ready yet! I need my something old and all that crap! We don't have rings! We haven't booked a honeymoon! We haven't gotten a marriage license! We haven't gotten…"

"Okay, babe. Slow down." Miguel said, taking Sam's hands in his own and gently calming her down. Sam suffered from anxiety, so sometimes she spiraled out of control and needed someone to help pull her back to reality. "What do we have to do first?"

"Well, I need something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." Sam replied. Miguel raised an eyebrow and looked around the shop. His eyes lit up when he saw something, and moments later, he snagged a light blue pin in the shape of a diamond and handed it to Sam.

"Here. Something new and blue." Miguel said. Sam smiled and took it and nodded.

"Cool. Now for something old and something borrowed." Sam said. Miguel swivelled his head either way and made sure there was no one watching, and then he slipped the pin into Sam's pocket.

"Here. Something borrowed." Miguel murmured quietly. Sam's eyes widened.

"Miguel, that's stealing!" Sam whispered. Miguel shrugged.

"Eh. We'll give it back." He replied, weakly. Sam rolled her eyes and laughed, before pocketing the pin.

"Okay, now we just need something old." Sam stated. Miguel looked around the casino and saw a ton of old people playing at the slot machines. He chuckled.

"Well, I mean take your pick." Miguel remarked, pointing at the people. "You know, you could give them a piggyback ride up the aisle."

Sam giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that!" She laughed in response. "Any other ideas?"

Miguel nodded and took out a thin silver necklace from around his neck. Sam looked at it and saw that there was a charm at the end of it. As she glanced at the charm, she raised an eyebrow at Miguel questioningly. The charm at the end of the necklace was a polished beer bottle cap. As Sam looked closer, she saw a date carved into it… 24.12.2028. Sam's eyes widened.

"Wait, was this from…"

"The night I met you." Miguel finished, confirming what Sam already knew. "Yeah, crazy to think it's only been a year and a half since we first met. So much has happened since."

"I can't believe you have this." Sam murmured in disbelief. "How do you have this?"

"Well I found it in my coat when I was packing for Afghanistan and I decided to make it into a lucky charm. It's kept me safe for the past year and a half while I was in combat so I just kept it. Consider this something old and something borrowed."

"Wow, thanks." Sam said, kissing Miguel and clasping the discreet necklace around her neck.

"So, do we need anything else?" Miguel asked. Sam smiled and shook her head.

"I don't think so." Sam replied. "Let's get married…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sam and Miguel then headed into the wedding chapel, presented their ID papers to the person at the front desk, and they were sat down in a waiting room and told to fill out a bunch of documents. As they did so, the couple looked around the room. There were three other couples there: a pregnant couple, an extremely young couple, an extremely old couple, and them. To pass the time, Miguel and Sam decided to try and make up backstories for the couples there.

"Well, let's see…" Sam said, looking at the old couple on the other side of the room. "I feel like _his_ child and their family were probably visiting for Christmas last year. He dropped them off at the airport exactly one year ago, where at the entrance, he met _her_ , a former marine biologist."

"What? Why's she suddenly a marine biologist?" Miguel laughed, looking at the old lady sitting beside her significant other.

"Well, she's wearing a penguin shirt, genius." Sam stated. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"She could just really like penguins. I have a flower Hawaiin shirt at home; that doesn't make me a plant researcher."

"Whatever. Just go with it okay?!" Sam laughed. "So he was dropping his family off at the airport and he met her, who was also dropping her family off. They met, fell in love, and decided to get married on the exact day they met a year earlier."

"Aww… that's actually pretty sweet." Miguel remarked. Sam nodded and then turned her attention to the young couple in the corner of the room.

"Okay, what about them?" Sam asked, pointing to the teenage girl in a cheerleader outfit and the guy wearing a L.A Chargers hoodie. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, I think that one's pretty self-explanatory." Miguel stated. "They're two high-schoolers. Hooked up at a party. And suddenly, they find out that she's pregnant. They tell their parents. Parents get PISSED. Say that the couple can't do it. To prove that they can do it on their own, they decide to elope."

"Interesting. Do you actually think it could be true? Like do you think she's actually pregnant?" Sam asked, curiously. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know for sure but it sure seems like it. She can't be more than 5'5, and yet she's wearing size 12 shoes. She's been to the bathroom 3 times in the past half hour. She can't seem to sit comfortably. Either she's pregnant, or she has boat-like feet and a UTI." Miguel replied. Sam giggled. Finally, the door to the waiting room swung open and their names were called. They stood up and looked at each other, nervously. Sam squeezed Miguel's hand.

"You ready?" Miguel asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. I love you." She said.

"Love you too." He replied. "Let's do this…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Dearly beloved…" The minister announced to the one random person sitting in the pews. "We are gathered here today to share with these two people their commitment to their journey together, wherever life's roads may take them."

"Well, the roads from here to San Diego. It's not like we're moving anywhere anytime soon." Miguel remarked. Sam turned to him.

"Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute. Uh, what if in a couple of years, I get a better job offer somewhere else? Like New York? I mean, then we'd have to move." Sam replied. Miguel's eyes widened and then turned to the minister.

"Excuse us one second." Miguel said, before pulling Sam over to the pews and sitting down next to her. "What do you mean New York? What're you talking about?"

"Well, it's just hypothetical. It could be anywhere. Chicago, Houston, anywhere." Sam stated. "I just meant wherever life's journey takes me we go together."

"What's the matter with California?" Miguel asked. "I mean our jobs are here, our families are here…"

Suddenly, the minister walked over to them.

"Not to pressure you guys, but you only have 5 minutes before the next couple comes in." The man stated. Miguel and Sam, who were in the middle of a disagreement, stood up.

"Look, let's talk about it on the honeymoon, okay?" Miguel suggested. Sam nodded and the two ran back to the front of the chapel.

"Look, let's cut right to the chase because we don't have much time." The minister quickly stated. "Do you, Miguel Diaz, take Samantha Larusso to be your lawfully wedded wife for better or for worse etcetera, etcetera, till death do you part, say 'I do.'"

"I…" Miguel hesitated. He couldn't get something off his mind. "I… Sam, how can we move? My job can literally only station me in two places in the country… San Diego and Virginia Beach."

"Yeah, but like you said you were going to quit when we decided to start a family, didn't you?" Sam said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, but that's still a while away, right?" Miguel remarked. It was Sam's turn to be floored in shock. She quickly pulled Miguel away from the front of the chapel and towards the pews.

"So sorry about this!" Sam called to the annoyed minister as they sat back down at the pews. She then turned to Miguel.

"Look, Sam, I love you and I do want to start a family with you at some point. But I have a lot to accomplish in my career before I have children."

"Yeah, I get that but we don't have that much time. Women can't just wait till we're forty and then have kids. I'm 27, and to have 4 kids in 8 years…"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone!" Miguel exclaimed. His face went pale. "Please tell me I'm hearing things and I didn't just hear you say 4 kids!"

"Two minute warning! Move it people!" They heard the minister shout, but this time Miguel and Sam completely ignored him.

"Why? How many kids do you want?" Sam asked.

"Like 1! Or maybe 2! Definitely not 4! Do you have any idea how much diapers cost?!"

"Yes, but you're so good with kids. You're going to make such a great father!"

"Yes, when I'm ready." Miguel said.

"Don't I have anything to say about this?" Sam snapped. Miguel sighed.

"Sam, I think that we both have a lot to say about this." Miguel murmured. "And I don't know…"

"If getting married is a good idea." Sam finished. Miguel nodded and Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, me too. Miguel, I love you, and I do want to stay with you, but we have such different opinions on so much that I feel like we need to sort out before we even consider getting married. Do you feel the same?"

Miguel nodded.

"I do." Miguel replied, before chuckling. "Hey, I got to say 'I do' today!"

Sam laughed and intertwined her fingers in his, before walking out the chapel, still unmarried.

"You ready to face our parents?" Miguel suddenly asked as the two walked back into the hotel and casino. Sam looked at him, confused.

"Huh?" She asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you know how we accidentally sent them that voicemail? Chances are they're going to be at the casino any minute now to stop us." Miguel remarked.

"You think? Nah, they trust us more than that, right?" Sam asked. Miguel's eyes scanned the hotel lobby and locked onto four people who had just rushed in. He sighed as he recognised them.

"Wanna bet?" Miguel grumbled. Sam saw them and groaned.

"Of course they're here." Sam murmured. Miguel draped his arm around Sam's shoulders.

"You know, Sam? I have a feeling that this is going to be our best year yet…"

**So, in the next chapter, there's a time jump of 6 months. It's just going to be this way because there is a lot of drama and action upcoming in the next few chapters…**


	24. Chapter 24

**6 months later…**

" _Tensions have never been higher between Pakistan and the United States. More and more U.S soldiers are being transferred each day to the American Embassy in Islamabad to ensure extra security and safety to those living and working in the embassy. The troops will be there for an indeterminate amount of time, at least 3 months, and…"_

"Fuck!" Eli swore as him and Miguel sat in the mess hall among all of the other soldiers and watched the news on the small TV in the corner of the room. Miguel and Eli had been stationed at the embassy for nearly 3 months due to the rising unrest in Islamabad between Pakistani government, U.S government, and extremist groups such as the Taliban. Miguel hadn't been back to his and Sam's new place in San Diego in 3 whole months, and both him and Sam were not happy at all. Miguel was supposed to have the next two weeks in June off and him and Sam were supposed to spend that time together, but with Miguel and all of the troops frozen in Pakistan indefinitely and tensions between the nations escalating with every passing day, he wasn't about to be released anytime soon.

"What an absolute shit show." Miguel's other friend, a SEAL named Ben, growled.

"Man, just turn the TV off please." Miguel muttered. Eli nodded and did so, and the two sat back and groaned. So it was official. They were stuck in Pakistan for God knows how long, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Well this sucks." Eli grumbled. "Three months in this shithole and now they tell us we're staying longer!"

"I swear to God, we're basically glorified babysitters with guns!" Miguel spat. "We just follow the ambassador around all day and stand outside whatever room he's in. It's so stupid!"

"You're telling me." Eli chuckled, mirthlessly. "You ready to tell Sam?"

Miguel groaned.

"She's going to dump me. Like she's literally going to dump me." Miguel murmured. Eli raised an eyebrow.

"You really think so?" He asked, worried for his friend. Miguel shrugged and looked down.

"I really don't know, man. I can tell she's unhappy. I am two. We're meant to be in a relationship and live together but it's kinda hard for our relationship to blossom with one of us living a world away."

Eli raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not even going to pretend I understood half the words you said there." Eli remarked in reply. Miguel rolled his eyes. "But you just gotta tell her. Rip off the bandaid. And if she dumps you, so be it. Suck it up and deal with it. Nothing you can do. She _chose_ to get involved with you. She wants to pull out now, that's on her."

Miguel sighed and shook his head.

"I wish it were that easy." He murmured as he pulled out his phone and dialled. Sam answered the phone moments later. Sam wasn't happy with their relationship. Not at all. Although she knew that it wasn't Miguel's fault that he had to stay in Pakistan for the past three months, it didn't take away the loneliness she felt. They had just finished moving all of their stuff in together and a month later, Miguel was whisked out of the country. Moreover, because of the time difference, they only managed to find the chance to chat once every couple of days - not nearly enough for a healthy couple to function.

"Hello?" Sam said into the phone.

"Hey, Sam." Miguel said glumly into the phone. Sam sighed. She could immediately tell from his tone that he wasn't coming home anytime soon.

"Hey, Miguel." Sam murmured. "Let me guess… you're not coming home."

Miguel sighed, ran his hand through his hair and eventually nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. They're freezing us here indefinitely. At least 3 months but could easily be more."

"3 MONTHS!" Sam shouted, her eyes widening and her heart dropping. "Miguel, you can't possibly be serious?!"

"Unfortunately, I am." Miguel replied. "The unrest is escalating rather than de-escalating here between the U.S and Pakistan. There's a good chance a fight might happen, so they're keeping us until the conflict's over."

"So… what? You're just never coming home?!" Sam snapped, anger and upset starting to overtake her shock and sadness.

"Sam, I don't have a choice." Miguel stammered. "I wish I could be at home with you, trust me. But I'm stuck here, whether I like it or not. It's my job."

Sam put her head in her hands and felt angry tears prickling in the back of her eyes. She couldn't believe this. She was reaching the end of her patience with Miguel's job. She couldn't deal with this for much longer. The being away. The danger he put himself in. The not knowing when he would be back. It was all too much. She didn't want to break up, but they needed to

"Look, Miguel, we have to talk. I'll be honest… I'm not happy with our relationship right now." Sam eventually said, but just as the words left her lips, she heard a loud BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! and realised that Miguel had hung up on her.

"What the hell?" Sam growled under her breath. No way in hell Miguel had just hung up on her! Sam tried calling him back two more times but both times he didn't answer. Sam swore under her breath. Seriously Miguel? She was trying to have a mature, adult conversation with him and he just hung up?! Sam threw her phone onto the table in a fit of anger. She wanted to go and drink herself blind to forget all about this for one night, so she grabbed her purse and keys and stormed out of the apartment, not calling up a friend to come to the bar with her to look out for her…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

" _Look, Miguel, we have to talk. I'll be honest… I'm not happy with our relationship right now."_

No sooner than Sam had dropped that bombshell on him, Miguel's phone suddenly disconnected. Miguel raised an eyebrow in confusion and realised that the cell signal in the embassy had just been jammed for some reason. Manually, not a fluke. Miguel walked over to a confused Eli and Ben and realised that they were having the same issue.

Suddenly, a loud siren shrieked through the Embassy compound mess hall and every Marine and SEAL in the room shot to their feet. They all knew exactly what that siren meant. Something was going down, either inside the embassy or outside. They needed to report to their commanders to hear instructions. Because Miguel, Eli and Ben were three of few SEALs among mainly Marines, they probably would be getting separate instructions to everyone else.

They ran to the main lobby of the embassy, where they could tell all of the CIA and other government operatives were in a panic. Miguel had worked with the CIA for almost his whole career as a SEAL. They were the ones who would gather the intelligence the SEALs needed to complete the mission. Miguel, Eli and Ben ran over to Lieutenant Anderson, who had quickly gathered up his SEAL platoon.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Miguel shouted, his voice struggling to rise above the frenzy.

"A convoy containing the director of the CIA and his wife was hit by Rocket Launcher fire in a town square four blocks from the Embassy." Anderson announced. Everyone gasped.

"Holy shit." Eli murmured under his breath.

"We don't know if he's dead or alive. It is presumed to be Taliban. All Marines and SEALs are to be deployed to the scene right now in case of further attacks." Anderson continued. The men nodded and all simultaneously clicked into action. They all quickly armed up and put on their bulletproof armor in a matter of seconds, and were soon ready to leave. However, before Miguel could get ready to go, Lieutenant Anderson pulled him back.

"Sir?" Miguel asked, confused. Why wasn't he allowed to get ready and get deployed like the rest of them.

"I'm gonna need you to hang back, Diaz." Lieutenant Anderson ordered. "Because the whole platoon is being deployed right now, I need to be in the field to command the men. This isn't an ordinary mission. You're the next highest ranking soldier in the platoon so you're in charge of military actions from here."

"Yes, sir." Miguel nodded, and he took off towards the Command Center of the CIA in the embassy, leaving the other soldiers to storm out of the embassy moments later, leaving the embassy floor deathly quiet…

10 minutes later, Miguel sat in the Command Center alongside many high-level CIA employees (Miguel was the highest ranking of the few soldiers on site), and he watched the scene unfold from a variety of soldier body-cams and drone footage. The SEALs and Marines were quickly advancing towards the square where the convoy had been hit, and there was no sign of any further attack so far. The director still hadn't emerged from his overturned car, but the car hadn't exploded yet so that was a good sign.

Miguel was standing next to another friend of his - none other than the elderly Ambassador herself, Martha Edwards. Suddenly, Martha's phone rang and she looked at it. Her eyes widened. It was a call from the one source the Americans had inside the Taliban. The mole they had used to stay one step ahead of the Taliban up to that point. They had told the double agent never to contact them so as to not arouse suspicion of his actions among his fellow terrorists, so the fact that he was calling must have meant that it was important.

Martha quickly stepped out of the extremely loud control room and answered the phone.

"Hello? Ahmad?" Martha asked, confused, as she answered the phone.

"BRING THE SOLDIERS BACK TO THE EMBASSY NOW!" Ahmad's desperate shout bellowed into the phone. Martha's eyes widened.

"What?" She stammered.

"The Taliban… they're coming! They're using the explosion as a diversion to draw out the Marines from the Embassy and are going to charge into the Embassy tonight!"

Martha's heart dropped. She rushed back into the room and turned to Miguel.

"Miguel! You need to call your men back!" Martha shouted.

"Why?" Miguel asked in his calm, cool tone.

"Because ambushing the director's convoy may have been a diversion to draw the soldiers away from here."

"Draw them away?" Miguel asked.

"From the embassy. They want to invade us right now! With no soldiers here, we are completely defenseless."

Miguel snapped into action. They had been training for situations like these ever since they had arrived in Pakistan, but he never expected something like this to actually happen. He ran out of the room, followed by the ambassador, and immediately saw a Marine Corps Private standing at attention outside the room.

"Private, give me your comms." Miguel demanded. Seeing Miguel's urgentness and his authority, the Marine Corps Private immediately handed Miguel his radio.

"Here, sir." The Marine said, giving it to him.

"How many soldiers were deployed to the ambush site?" Miguel asked.

"Pretty much everyone on the duty roster, except me, you and a couple of men posted at the gate." The Marine replied. Miguel nodded and held the walkie talkie to his lips.

"Marine dispatch, this is Miguel Diaz. Get me the Commanding Officer deployed to the ambush site." Miguel said, calmly into the walkie talkie. He then turned to Martha. "Ambassador, you need to get to the safety bunker, follow lockdown two protocols till you get the all clear."

Miguel then finally turned to the young Marine Corps Private, who was still standing at attention. Miguel could tell the man was extremely nervous, but Miguel didn't have time to help the man. For all they knew, the Taliban could be converging on the embassy at any second.

"Private, stay with me." Miguel said. The Private nodded and followed Miguel out of the command center. Miguel quickly grabbed a pistol from the armory and cocked it. He took a slow, calming breath. He was about to have to protect the entire embassy from a whole army of Taliban terrorists. It was going to be the most dangerous fight of his life, and yet his mind was still partly distracted on Sam. Not good. Not good at all…


	25. Chapter 25

Sam stormed into the bar 15 minutes later. She was absolutely fuming with Miguel. She had put up with so much to do with his job before! He was gone on super dangerous missions most of the year, he couldn't talk about his job with her because of classification laws, even when he was home, he was often pulled away at the moment's notice. And yet, despite all of that, Sam stuck around, because _that_ was how much she loved Miguel. But at some point, she had to think… Was their relationship really worth it?

As Sam sat at the bar, she downed two shots and as she started to feel a little bit tipsy, she felt a tap on the shoulder. Sam turned around and when she saw who was standing before her, her jaw dropped. It was someone she hadn't seen in more than 2 years. Someone who she had dumped for cheating on her. It was none other than her ex-boyfriend, Robby Keene…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"You're okay! You're gonna be okay!" Eli called assurances to the director of the CIA, who was still trapped in his overturned vehicle. He could smell gasoline and with the fire all around them from the rocket, he knew that they didn't have long until the car exploded and certainly killed the director. The director seemed to be alive and unharmed from what Eli and Ben could see through the window, but he looked extremely shaken.

"Crowbar! Someone get me a crowbar!" Ben shouted as his platoon and all of the Marines stood guard around the area, wearily keeping watch for any further signs of attack from the Taliban. They were handed a crowbar shortly after, and they managed to bust through the broken door of the SUV, pulling the director out of the car and onto safe ground. A couple of meters away, the Marine Corps Captain's walkie talkie clicked on as he was connected with Miguel's walkie talkie.

"What's the situation like?" Miguel asked him.

"Convoy was hit by RPG fire. Counted 5 confirmed kills so far." The Captain replied, before seeing a couple of his men pull out another limp corpse from the wrecked SUV at the front of the convoy. "Make that 6."

"Captain, I need your men back with us here at the embassy. We have intel of a possible attack on the embassy." Miguel said, calmly. He knew that despite all of the panicked people around him who were going into lockdown protocol, as one of the only soldiers on site, he needed to stay calm.

"When?" The Captain asked, urgently.

"Now." Miguel stated. "It may well be tied to your being off-site."

"Copy that, on our way." The Captain replied. Miguel nodded.

"Let me know when you're close." Miguel added. As the Captain put down his walkie talkie, he turned to all of the soldiers around him and prepared to bark out orders. However, before he could, he heard the unmistakable whiz of a bullet and moments later, felt a piercing pain as a sniper bullet buried into his neck. The Captain stumbled backwards, dead before he hit the ground, Miguel's urgent instructions now no longer known to any of them. The soldiers, Eli and Ben amongst them, all dived for cover as they surveyed the surroundings. There were five Taliban snipers scattered around an abandoned parking lot above them around 100 meters away. As the two sides exchanged shots, the Americans quickly realised that they were surrounded and they had much less soldiers.

As Ben fired cover fire to slow down the shooters, Eli took out his phone and dialled the number of his contact in the Pakistani Government - a man named Rajesh Khan, a Lieutenant in the Pakistani Intelligence Service.

"Hello?" Khan said.

"THE CONVOY'S HIT!" Eli bellowed into the phone. As someone extremely high up in Pakistani Intelligence, Khan knew about the convoy that was supposed to be travelling through town that day.

"What?" Khan asked.

"We're pinned down by sniper fire!" Eli continued.

"Where are you?" Khan asked, calmly. "Tell me where you are."

"Four blocks north of the Embassy on Nursa Road!" Eli yelled back.

"How many gunmen?"

"Seven, eight at least, and they have high ground on us. We're taking casualties! Hurry!" Eli shouted.

"I'll send a section." Khan nodded.

"Send a platoon!" Eli yelled.

"All right, sit tight, we're on our way." Khan said, before hanging up the phone. When he hung up, he took a deep breath and tossed it aside, not making any effort to call for backup for the Americans. The Pakistani government knew full well about the imminent attack on the embassy at the hands of the Taliban and they secretly supported it. The Americans had insinuated themselves long enough into his country's business. It was time they got a dose of their own medicine…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel and the Marine Corps Private swiftly walked through the embassy, heading for the secret back entrance/exit. They knew that that was the most likely place for the Taliban to attack them from. As they did so, Miguel peered into the various rooms along the way. He saw everyone complying with Lockdown protocol, throwing all papers into a large bin in the center of the room to be burned, and preparing to crash all hard drives.

Meanwhile, 10 Taliban gunmen had just snuck into the embassy unseen, led by their leader himself, Haissam Haqqani. They managed to break into the main floor where all of the command rooms were, and that's when they were finally noticed by panicked embassy workers. Raising their 10 AK-47s, the Taliban charged through the embassy and shot anyone and everyone who were in their path. However, as they went room by room, rather than just gunning people down and continuing, they ransacked each and every room as if they were searching for something. They were in fact searching for something. They were searching for the list. The list of all of the assets and agents the U.S Government had in the Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. That list was the single most important thing in the embassy. There were no copies of the list in D.C because the CIA didn't know who they could trust, and if the Taliban got a hold of the list, hundreds of people would be blown and would be surely hunted by the Taliban. Luckily, the Taliban couldn't find the list as it was in the bunker with the ambassador herself.

Miguel and the Private crept down to the basement car park, towards the back entrance of the embassy compound. They hadn't heard the gunshots on the main floor so they assumed that the Taliban hadn't yet made it into the embassy. Pistols raised aloft, the two made it to the car park and electric room, and they immediately heard harsh voices speaking Pashto, the native language of Afghanistan. Miguel's heart dropped and his skin crawled. The Taliban were here!

The two Americans ducked down and hid behind a large pillar and Miguel listened intently to the two terrorists talking. He understood what they were saying as he was fluent in Pashto. In fact, Miguel was fluent in Spanish (his first language), English, Arabic, Somali, Urdu, Bangla and Pashto. The reason for this was that he spent so much time in the Middle East and South Asia and being able to understand native languages when in the tribal areas was vital. Whenever he was on base but off-duty in a foreign country, Miguel loved to delve into the culture of whatever country he was in. He listened intently as the men talked, and he peered out from his hiding spot to see three Taliban men patrolling the entrance, AK-47s in their hands.

Suddenly, all of the men heard something on their radio, and they all walked away and into the embassy. The two soldiers tiptoed after them, silently aiming their guns…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Robby." Sam murmured, her eyes wide in shock.

"Hey, Sam." Robby smiled at her. He hadn't seen Sam since their breakup just over two years ago. He hadn't dated a single woman since, as he still hadn't gotten over her. He had made the biggest mistake of his life cheating on her while they were in a relationship. Sam had been an absolutely incredible girlfriend - kind, caring, loving - and he had taken advantage of that, ruining everything he had just for one night flings.

As Sam got over her shock, she scowled at him. Robby had been an absolute jackass to her towards the end of their two year relationship, cheating on her more than once. But to be honest, even if he hadn't cheated, Sam probably would've broken up with him at some point anyways. Robby just wasn't what she wanted in a long-term relationship. A college dropout right after his freshman year, Robby worked as a handyman in a dead-end job. He just wasn't what Sam wanted in a relationship. But for some reason now, looking at Robby two years later… he looked different. He looked more cleaned up. He had a spark in his eye that Sam had never seen before. Like his life finally had a purpose. However, this didn't matter as all Sam saw when she looked into his face was the face of the man who cheated on her all those years ago.

"What are you doing here, Robby?" Sam asked.

"I'm here with a friend." Robby replied, pointing to a guy in the corner of the bar who had just stood up and headed towards the exit with a girl. "Who I see is now leaving."

"Yeah, well you should too." Sam snapped. Robby sighed.

"Look, can I buy you a drink, Sam?" Robby asked. Sam raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

"In what possible world do you actually see me saying yes to that?!" Sam spat, starting to get up to leave. Robby nodded.

"Sam, I was such a jerk to you during our relationship. Sorry doesn't even begin to describe how I feel." Robby said. "I took advantage of your kindness. I'm not trying anything, I swear. Please let me buy you a drink. One drink, and then you can take off if you want. You can spend the time calling me every name in the book."

Sam eventually nodded and sat back down.

"Fine. One drink…"


	26. Chapter 26

Upstairs on the main floor of the embassy, Haqqani and the rest of the terrorists had lined up 10 hostages in the main Command Center and forced them to their knees, guns aimed to the back of their heads. Haqqani was angry. Him and his men had searched the entire Command Center and still hadn't found the list they were looking for. He knew full well that the list was somewhere in the embassy; he just didn't know where. And he sure as hell wasn't leaving without it, as the people on the list were basically the Taliban's last resistance to completely controlling Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Haqqani paced up and down the line of hostages, and he eventually stopped at a young, Iranian-American woman, no older than 23. She was just out of college, and had been recruited by the CIA. She never could have imagined that her basic desk job would end up with her staring down the barrel of a gun, being glared at by one of the most fearsome terrorists in the world.

"Stand up." Haqqani growled. The woman, trembling, got to her feet and faced him. "Tell me who has the list."

"What list?" She stammered.

"The list of traitors who help you to kill our women and children." Haqqani spat.

The woman, despite being absolutely petrified, didn't say anything. Haqqani stood over her and she started sweating in fear.

"You're Muslim, yes?" Haqqani remarked as he looked at the young Iranian-American woman.

"Yes." She eventually stammered in reply.

"And yet you kill Muslims." Haqqani growled. "Does your family know what you're doing here? What you've done?"

"They know." The woman responded, trying to appear strong but the tremor in her voice and the tears in her eyes gave her away.

"Well, if you won't tell me where to find the list… perhaps he will." Haqqani snarled, raising his gun to the head of the man next to her…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Sir." The Marine breathed, pointing at a shadow a couple of feet away from them.

Miguel looked left and saw another terrorist, holding his gun, his back thankfully to them. Miguel noted the man's presence, but his main focus was trying to listen to the extremely quiet Pashto radio chatter that was coming from the terrorists' walkie talkies.

"What are they saying?" The Marine whispered to Miguel.

"They're going to the embassy floor." Miguel murmured in reply.

"Why?" The Marine asked.

"Because that's where the bunker is." Miguel replied. "The Ambassador has a list they want. We gotta get up there."

"Did they say how many men they've got?" The Private asked. Miguel looked at him and smirked.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough." He replied. "You ready?"

"Ready."

With that, the Marine aimed his pistol at the terrorist to the far left of them, and Miguel aimed at the 3 terrorists directly in front of him. They took out the four men with relative ease, and they then slowly emerged from their hiding spot.

"Good." Miguel murmured, standing up and walking towards one of the corpses. "Now, let's get one of their radios…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"I'm sorry, so you have an action hero Navy SEAL boyfriend?!" Robby asked. When Sam nodded, Robby whistled. "Damn, that really puts my architecture career to shame."

"Well, I mean… wait, what? Architecture career? I thought you were a handyman." Sam said. Robby nodded.

"I was. But after we broke up, it forced me to take a look at my life and I realised that it was going nowhere. I was lost. So I decided to go back to college, get my degree, and I just started working at an architecture firm here."

"Wow, Robby, that's amazing! I'm really happy for you!" Sam exclaimed. She couldn't help but smile. Robby had clearly turned around his life, and she could see a new-found energy, enthusiasm and pride in him that she had never seen before.

"Thanks." Robby smiled. "What about you? Are you still in the child psychology business?"

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I actually have my own clinic here now." Sam replied. Robby's eyes widened.

"You live here now?! No way! You're no longer in New York?!" Robby asked.

"Yeah, I moved 6 months ago with my boyfriend." Sam said, her voice slightly trailing off when she said the word 'boyfriend'. Her and Miguel were NOT on good terms right now. Not just because he had hung up on her on the phone. Their relationship of him being away for months was not enough anymore.

Sam was honestly, genuinely thinking about ending their relationship…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Meanwhile, the Ambassador and all of the other high-level government personnel gathered in the security bunker in the embassy, safe and locked away from the terrorists roaming the halls around them, but leaving all of the hostages at their mercy. The ambassador was on the phone with the Pakistani government, asking, _pleading_ with them to send troops to the embassy to drive the terrorists out of the embassy. However, the call was seeming to be more and more unsuccessful with every second.

"I'm in the bunker right now. I was at the embassy when it was overrun." Martha said. She listened to the unhelpful voice of the Pakistani General in reply and she growled. "Yes, we're under attack, what the hell do you think I've been saying?! We have heavily armed fighters inside the compound. Gunfire, casualties… we need your immediate help!"

There was no response on the other end of the line and Martha put her head in her hands.

"Goddammit, General! This is your country!" She shouted. "The safety of this embassy is _your_ responsibility. I don't care what you have to do; just get them here!"

Martha's voice trailed off and her trembling hand dropped the phone as her and everyone else in the bunker watched the monitor that portrayed the CCTV camera footage from right outside the room. They watched as Haqqani and his gang of terrorists led the group of hostages down the hall and stopped them right by the camera, forcing all of them back to their knees.

Haqqani stared at the camera that was connected to the security bunker and he nodded.

"Open the door!" He demanded. Everyone in the bunker looked at each other in fear and no one spoke. Haqqani chuckled. "We know you're in there!"

When there was no response again, Haqqani turned to his right-hand-man, who had his gun to the head of the first hostage in the line. At Haqqani's nod, the man fired a bullet through the skull of the first hostage. All of the hostages outside and the government officials cried out in fear and alarm as they watched the first man's blood splatter all over the floor and begin to seep out of the hole in his head.

"I said open the door." Haqqani continued. Eventually Martha got over her shock and turned on the microphone connected to the speaker right outside so she could talk to Haqqani.

"This is Ambassador Martha Edwards." She shouted, trying to gain some authority in her voice but failing miserably. After all, she didn't have the power in the situation and she knew it. She couldn't not try though. "You are in violation of international law!"

"Open the door!" Haqqani repeated. Martha took a deep breath and continued.

"The Pakistan Armed Forces are on their way." She lied. "You will all be killed!"

"I will ask you one more time only… Open the door!" Haqqani continued, ignoring Martha's attempts to establish authority and scare them.

"I can't do it!" Martha stammered. "I'm under strict protocol. The door won't open until I get an all-clear from the Diplomatic Security Command Center in Washington."

Haqqani sighed and turned back to his right-hand-men. All it took was a curt nod for the lieutenant to put a bullet into the back of the head of the second hostage. The remaining hostages cried out in fear. Two out of ten hostages were dead, and Haqqani was showing now signs of stopping.

"I believe you have in your possession, a certain list. That's all I want." Haqqani called. "Give it to me and no one else dies."

"I told you, I can't do it!" Martha cried.

BANG! Another hostage down.

"You can execute them all, there's not a damn thing I can do!" Martha sobbed. The next hostage in line was the young Iranian-American woman, but rather than executing her, Haqqani dragged her to her feet and pulled her over to the camera so they were right in front of it. Haqqani then drew a knife and put it to the woman's neck.

"Give me the list, or I will kill her right here, right now." Haqqani growled. The assistant director of the CIA, who was hiding in the bunker, stood up and walked towards the door. Because Haqqani and his hostage were standing right in front of the camera, he could see with vivid details the tears and sweat on the woman's face as she trembled, knowing her life could easily end at that moment.

As the assistant director made his way towards the door, Martha stopped him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Martha shouted.

"What does it look like?" He said, grabbing the list that the terrorists so desperately wanted and heading towards the door. "I'm giving him what he wants."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Open that door and we're all dead!" Martha snapped. "Including the assets on that list!"

"You don't know that!" The man shot back. Martha looked at the screen, at Haqqani holding the knife to the young girl's throat, and then she looked back at her colleague.

"I can damn well guess." She replied.

"You have ten seconds!" Haqqani suddenly called.

"He's gonna cut her head off, for Christ's sake!" The assistant director cried.

"It's a war." Martha whispered.

"Well, I can't just stand here and watch." The assistant director growled, before shoving Martha out the way and placing a hand on the vault handle. Taking a deep breath, he slowly started to spin it counter-clockwise, unlocking it…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As Sam and Robby were chatting, catching up on everything they had missed in each other's lives, Sam lost track of time. As they downed drink after drink together, laughing and telling anecdotes of their lives during the past two years, Sam looked at her watch, and she suddenly realised that it was 6 in the morning. Her eyes widened. 7 hours had gone by. 7 hours and Miguel had not once tried to call her back. Not even a simple text message. Sam sighed. Maybe her relationship with him really was a lost cause.

Sam slowly stood up from the bar.

"Okay, Robby, it was great catching up with you, but I gotta go get some sleep." Sam murmured, a little bit drunk but not too much so that she would make an extremely stupid decision that night. Robby stood up too.

"Okay. Can I walk you home?" Robby asked. Sam looked at him, unsure.

"Robby, you know nothing's going to happen between us, right? I mean I have a boyfriend." Sam stammered. Robby smiled and nodded.

"I know, and I'm happy with that. It's just you seem pretty drunk and I don't think you walking alone, or even getting in a cab alone right now is a good idea. Please let me just walk you home."

Sam eventually nodded.

"Okay, sure. Let's go." She said, and she started to walk towards the door, but immediately stumbled and nearly fell due to her drunkenness. However, she didn't fall because Robby caught her hand and held her hand to support her.

"Don't worry. I got you." Robby said, reassuringly. Sam couldn't help but smile at this new Robby. He seemed kinder. More considerate. Had she made a mistake letting him go all those years ago?

Twenty minutes later, they made it back to Sam's place, and they stopped at the door.

"All right. I guess this is where I leave you." Robby said. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, this was nice. Thank you so much for tonight. I really needed a fun night. Good night, Robby." She replied, and she began fumbling in her bag for keys.

"Hey, Sam?" Robby mumbled, and Sam looked up at him with her gorgeous, ocean-blue eyes.

"Yeah?" She asked. Robby took a deep breath.

"Okay, look, tonight, I had a lot of fun. But I told one lie… that I'm happy with you dating that Miguel guy. I'm not. You should be with me instead."

"Robby…" Sam sighed. Robby held up a hand to stop her.

"Look, just please hear me out okay. I can tell that you aren't happy with Miguel." Robby said. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?" She asked. Robby shrugged.

"Because we just spent 7 hours together and the only things you told me about Miguel were that he's a SEAL, and he's NEVER home. And you said that second fact A LOT. It doesn't take a psychologist to read your emotions."

"Look, Miguel and I are going through a rough patch right now, I'll admit, but…"

"I've changed, Sam." Robby continued, cutting her off. "I've become a more whole person. I've become more mature, I've grown, and I owe that all to you. If you give me the chance, this time around, I won't screw up. I'll be the boyfriend you deserve. Because you deserve the world, Sam."

Sam was left speechless by her ex's romantic profession. After Robby finished talking, he looked down awkwardly, not wanting to make eye contact, and shifting from foot to foot.

"Look, that's all I have to say. Here's my number if you ever want to start things up again." Robby said, slipping a card with his name and number on it into her pocket. "Good night, Sam."

With that, Robby kissed her gently on the cheek, before walking away from her house, leaving a very emotionally discombobulated Sam behind…


	27. Chapter 27

"Don't hurt her! You hear me? I'm coming out!" The assistant director of the CIA shouted through the speaker at the bunker to Haqqani, who still had a knife pressed to the petrified woman's throat.

"Open the door!" Haqqani demanded.

"I'm unlocking it now, I swear." The assistant director stammered.

"No games!" Haqqani bellowed.

"No, no! No games, I swear. You have my word!"

Meanwhile, Miguel and the Marine Corps Private finally made it to the embassy floor, and they crept down the corridor, swiftly moving towards loud voices that they could hear up ahead. Eventually, they came to a corner, and Miguel peeked his head around to see what was going on. His heart dropped…

Haqqani and his men were all gathered around right outside the vault, a line of hostages on their knees right before him. There were also a couple of hostages lying dead on the ground, and Miguel winced. He then saw Haqqani holding a knife to the young woman's throat, and Miguel slowly aimed his gun. After a couple of seconds, he realised that there was no way he could fire his weapon without risking hitting the hostage. There was nothing the soldiers could do but wait and watch as the action unfolded.

"What's going on?" The Marine whispered to Miguel. He was behind Miguel as the SEAL peaked out, so he couldn't see what was going on.

"They're at the door to the bunker." Miguel replied. "Three hostages are down. Haqqani has a knife to the throat of the fourth."

"What do we do?" The Marine asked.

"Well, they managed to cut through the embassy easily, so chances are they got this place mapped out. They knew about the secret back entrance and the vault, right?"

"Right." The Marine nodded.

"That means they know about the emergency stairwell at the back of the ambassador's office." Miguel continued.

"What are you thinking?" The Marine asked.

"I say we chase them towards the exit." Miguel murmured.

"There's only two of us!"

"This is a surgical strike for them, it's not a suicide mission. They're just here to get the list. They'd rather run than engage in firefight."

"You sure?" The Private asked. Miguel looked at the terrified Private right in the eye and sighed.

"No." Miguel replied, honestly.

At that moment, the assistant director of the CIA finally finished unlocking the vault and he stepped out, facing the terrorist. Miguel's eyes widened when he saw this.

"Shit." He whispered as he watched the assistant director hand the list to Haqqani's right-hand-man.

"Here. Now let her go." The assistant director begged. Haqqani nodded and murmured something in his native language into the young girl's ear. But rather than letting her go, Haqqani slashed his knife right through her neck. As the girl fell away, limp, Miguel forced himself to stay calm. He was finally granted his opening. He nodded at the Marine, and the two of them sprung from their hiding spot, firing their guns at the terrorists…

All hell broke loose. Miguel killed three terrorists immediately, and then he hit Haqqani with a bullet to the arm, injuring him but not killing him. The terrorists shot back, spraying their assault rifles at the two Americans. Miguel and the Marine dived for cover behind the wall and occasionally peeked out and fired some more bullets. Haqqani and a couple of his men had taken off towards the exit like Miguel had planned, and only two men remained behind to fire at Miguel and the American. The two professional soldiers finally managed to take them out after an insane gunfight, and they then sprinted in the direction Haqqani had gone…

Down the stairs they went. One flight. Two flights. Three flights. They eventually made it to the basement, running down a corridor that would lead them to the back exit of the embassy. Haqqani and his men had a massive head start but Miguel was quickly gaining on them. But he wasn't fast enough. Haqqani and his men soon reached the exit and they placed a remote explosive on the wall, blowing it up just as Miguel reached it and causing the exit to collapse on itself. Miguel stumbled to a halt and punched the wall in anger. Haqqani had gotten away. He had failed.

"FUCK!" He screamed.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next morning, when Sam woke up, she had a pounding headache and hangover. She had drank way too much the night before, and it took her a while to gather her bearings. She lay back in her bed and looked sideways, smiling when she saw the picture of her and Miguel on the side table, the two of them looking so happy. It was taken on their first trip together, when they went on a staycation to San Francisco. She then looked at the right side of the bed and saw Miguel's side of the bed cold and empty. She sighed and began to think about the night before. Could Robby actually be right? Should she be with him? The Robby she saw last night was nothing like the Robby she had dumped two years ago. He was a completely different person. A way better person than he was before. And she had history with him. A connection. Sure her connection with Miguel was just as strong, if not stronger… but something Robby said to her the night before stuck to her head: why should she be in a relationship with someone who clearly cared about his job more than her?

Sam wasn't a needy girlfriend. Far from it. She was a badass, independent woman. But she wanted a boyfriend who was home for more than a month or two a year. And maybe, just maybe, could Robby be that person?

Sam groaned and put her pillow over her head. She was a mess. Her mom had always told her that her life shouldn't revolve around boys but here she was, her head spinning, her heart split in half across two different guys. What was she going to do?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel slowly stumbled back onto the main floor of the embassy, where he was greeted by all of the bloodshed. As Miguel surveyed his surroundings, tears crept to his eyes as he saw the four dead hostages on the ground - none of them any older than 30. Innocent lives cut short despite the fact that they weren't military. They didn't ask for any of this. Their jobs were behind desks all day, and yet they were the victims of the bloody, merciless war. Miguel slid to the ground in the corner of the embassy and put his head in his hands. It was like his entire body and mind had gone completely numb. He only vaguely noticed medics rushing into the room and checking him out, before loading all of the dead bodies into duffel bags and carrying them out of the room.

Half an hour later, backup from the Pakistani Forces finally made it to the sight of the convoy on the streets, where Eli's men were being overrun. Seeing the reinforcements, the Taliban quickly retreated, and the Americans piled back into their 4x4s and sped towards the embassy. None of them said anything on the drive back. Not Eli. Not Ben. Not Lieutenant Anderson. They had come inches away from dying, and the Pakistani Government had clearly betrayed them, taking an hour to arrive with backup rather than the 10 minutes it should have taken. But it was only going to get worse, as they had no idea about the devastation that had just occurred in the Embassy. As the car they were in pulled into the embassy compound, the soldiers' eyes widened.

"Oh, my God." Eli whispered. Draped on the outside of the embassy was a colossal Taliban flag, the ultimate form of humiliation against the United States. The car screeched to a halt and the soldiers rushed into the embassy, their guns raised. However, as soon as they entered and saw all of the medics and embassy personnel standing around, they realised that whatever situation had occurred had been resolved. They put their guns down and took in the scene, learning the horror story that had just happened…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Suddenly, Sam's phone started ringing, and Sam covered her ears due to the sharp noise. She gasped in pain as she stumbled towards the phone, answering it.

"Hello?" She grumbled into the phone.

"SAM!" Aisha's unmistakable voice shouted into the phone, and Sam winced in pain due to her hung over and the loud noises. Aisha then started jabbering about something urgent, but Sam was too nauseous and tired to understand what her friend was saying.

"Aisha, Aisha, slow down." Sam slurred. "What are you saying?"

"Sam, Miguel's in Pakistan right? In the Embassy?" Aisha asked, nervously. Sam raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Um… yeah, why?" Sam responded.

"Turn on your TV. NOW!" Aisha demanded, before hanging up. Sam slowly stumbled downstairs into the living room and turned on the TV, where Breaking News with the words 'ATTACK ON ISLAMABAD EMBASSY' filled the screen. Sam's heart stopped, and she turned up the volume to listen to the presenter…

"Grim details continue to emerge from Islamabad, where the U.S Embassy was attacked earlier today. In scenes reminiscent of Benghazi, Libya, gunmen overran parts of the compound, leaving as many as 40 Americans dead."

"Oh, my God." Sam whispered, worried tears springing to her eyes. She grabbed her phone and began calling Miguel incessantly. No answer. "Come on, Miguel! Pick up! Pick up!"

Still nothing. Eventually, Sam threw her phone aside and put her head in her hands, listening to the presenter briefly recount the events that had just occurred.

"According to the Taliban, the attack was in retaliation for drone strikes in the Northwest part of the country. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Army has sealed off the area immediately surrounding the embassy and will provide security at the site until order in the capital has been restored. Although the attack is believed to be an isolated incident, security measures at…"

Sam turned off the TV. She couldn't watch this anymore…


	28. Chapter 28

Miguel sat in the corner of the main floor of the embassy. The main floor had kind of turned into a morgue, with the dead bodies of all 40 Americans and 13 Terrorists all left there, wrapped in white body bags. As Miguel looked at the lifeless face of the young Iranian woman, he put his head in his hands. He had failed her. He had failed all of them. They were all counting on the highly trained soldiers to protect them, but the soldiers were powerless to stop the assault.

Suddenly, someone sat down next to him and Miguel's head shot up to see Eli.

"Hey." Miguel murmured.

"Hey." Eli grunted, groaning slightly as he sat down. Although he hadn't been shot during the ambush of the convoy, he had been hit by a piece of debris during an explosion so his left leg was wrapped in a bandage.

The two men sat in silence for several moments, before Eli eventually broke it.

"I know what you're thinking." Eli said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Miguel asked, in a quiet, exhausted voice.

"You're thinking that this is your fault, and it's not." Eli stated. Miguel sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Are you sure about that? I watched as Haqqani severed that girl's head right off her shoulders, and I was powerless to stop him."

"Miguel, you and I both know that there isn't a damn thing you could've done! There wasn't a damn thing any of us could've done in your position!" Eli declared. "You saved countless lives today."

Miguel shook his head and sighed. He disagreed.

"Look, why are you here?" Miguel snapped. Eli sighed.

"I, uh… I just got off the phone with Lieutenant Anderson. We're getting out of Pakistan. The president's decided to break off diplomatic relations."

"Can't say I'm surprised." Miguel murmured. "The attack was clearly state-sponsored. They've got blood on their hands."

"Glad you feel that way." A voice came from behind them. Miguel turned around to see Lieutenant Anderson standing before them.

"Lieutenant." Miguel nodded at him. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, Diaz. I need to talk to you. Both of you." Anderson said.

"Sure, what's up?" Eli asked.

"We're being evacuated in the first wave tomorrow morning and we're going back to Coronado." Lieutenant informed them. "Transport's going to be here at 6:30."

"Got it. Anything else?" Miguel asked. Anderson nodded.

"Yeah. Um… uh… no, you know what? You guys have had a LONG day. It can wait."

"No, it's fine. What's up?" Miguel asked. Anderson took a deep breath.

"Okay, um… the CIA and JSOC are planning a joint task force to go after Haqqani. And Diaz, you're on the shortlist to lead the Navy side of it…"

"I'm in." Miguel said, immediately. He wanted to end that son of a bitch once and for all. Lieutenant Anderson raised a hand to stop him.

"Hold on, Diaz. Before you agree… the task force is being run out of Kabul Station, so you'd be living on base in Afghanistan during that time. You'd be away from your families for the whole time. You get a week or two off now when we get back to America, but after that, you're on the next flight out to Afghanistan."

Miguel winced at the thought. He knew he and Sam were in a really rough patch in their relationship and it would take a lot of work for them to dig themselves out of it, work that couldn't be done if Miguel was a world away again. As he was about to refuse the job, he looked around the room and saw the bodies of all 40 Americans who had died in the past 12 hours. He thought about the fact that they all had their own families who they loved. Families who would never see them again. The casualties all had their own hopes and dreams for the future that had all been wiped out in a matter of hours at the hands of one man: Haqqani. Miguel eventually came to a decision. Sacrificing his happiness and risking a breakup with Sam was the price that he would just have to pay in return for getting justice for all of the innocent lives that had been lost.

He looked up at Anderson and clenched his jaw in determination. He would take out Haqqani

"I'm in…"

Eventually, a couple of long hours later, Miguel finally made it back to his quarters. He spent a whole hour in the shower, washing off all of the blood and grime that was on him. When he was completely clean, he still continued scrubbing himself furiously. He felt in a way… dirty. Like he had disgraced his country. An hour and a half later, Miguel stumbled into his room and picked up his phone. He sighed. Servers were still jammed. He had seen the news and knew that Sam probably had too, but he couldn't call Sam to let her know that he was alive and okay. The servers only went back online two hours later, and Miguel immediately dialled Sam…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"He's okay. He's okay. He's okay." Sam whispered under her breath, hoping and praying that Miguel was alright. She hadn't heard anything from him since she saw the Breaking News three hours ago. Miguel hadn't called her, but on the other hand, she hadn't heard anything from the Navy to let her know that Miguel was deceased.

Suddenly, just as she felt like she was about to explode into an inferno of anxiety, stress and fear, her phone rang. Sam practically dived on top of it and answered it.

"Hello?!" She practically shouted into the phone.

"Hey, Sam." Miguel's quiet voice greeted her, and Sam practically passed out in relief. Tears of relief rolled down her cheeks as her whole body finally relaxed for the first time in hours.

"Oh, thank God! Miguel, are you okay? Were you hurt? Were you involved in the situation? Were you…"

"Sam, I'm okay." Miguel murmured, cutting off her spiral. "Very shaken up, but okay."

"Thank God!" Sam whispered. "So, I, um… I was reading on the news that the U.S are pulling out of Pakistan. Does that mean you're…"

"Yeah, I'm coming home for now." Miguel replied. That wasn't totally a lie. He would be coming home for two whole weeks, and then he was leaving for Kabul. "Look, Sam, I'm really sorry but I need to hang up now because I'm getting on a plane in an hour. I just wanted you to know that I… I love you so much. If anything, the shit I went through today reminded me that everything we have could be ripped away so easily. I could be killed at any moment."

"Miguel, don't say that!" Sam snapped. She HATED when Miguel said stuff like that. She hated how dangerous Miguel's job was as it was, and when he said stuff like that, it only increased the stress and fear she would feel while he was away.

"I'm serious. But that's not the point. The point is I love you so much and if I ever took advantage of your kindness, I am so, so sorry."

"I love you too." Sam replied. "Travel safe. I'll be there to pick you up at the airport!"

"See you soon, Sam." Miguel murmured, before hanging up.

Miguel put his head in his hands. He felt like such a jackass saying all of that stuff to Sam right before he was going to lay the bombshell on her that he was going back to Afghanistan. He was apologising for taking advantage of her kindness in the past, and here he was about to do it again for an indeterminately long time. Well, that was if she didn't break up with him first. He never really thought his relationship with Sam was at risk before - he wasn't the jealous type and he fully trusted Sam - but now for the first time, he genuinely knew their relationship was at its last seam.

Little did he know that across the world, Sam was also feeling just as guilty, but in a completely different way. Of course, she was oblivious about his upcoming move to Afghanistan, but she was feeling guilty about having considered dumping Miguel 24 hours ago and not telling him about it. She hadn't told him yet about her meetup with Robby, and she didn't intend to. She wasn't going to call Robby back: she was going to hang onto her relationship with Miguel. Besides, things should get easier with Miguel now that he was stationed locally indefinitely. Maybe they could finally get the life together they deserved. The white picket fence. The quiet town. The kids. She had no idea about the chaos that was about to ensue…

**Hey, so for those who are complaining that this story has too much drama… that's literally the whole point of this story. I decided to create an Alternate Universe story because I wanted over-the-top drama. I don't know if any of you have seen spanish telenovelas before (soap operas) but that's the feel I want for this story. If you aren't enjoying it, I understand and I won't take offense if you stop reading. But know that next story is back to the regular Cobra Kai universe and is a bit more realistic so keep watch for that one!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's note…**

**Hey, so me again. I'm really sorry to have to write this but we need to talk. I love constructive feedback - it's what helps me become a better writer and come up with better ideas. But recently, the feedback (mainly in anonymous Private Messages) are not constructive, they're just rude. In the past couple of days, I've been called:**

**Gay shit**

**Fatass**

**Dumbass**

**Whiney bitch**

**Pussy**

**Coward**

**Piece of shit**

**Cunt**

**And these are just things people (WHO HAVE NEVER MET ME AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME) have called me, let alone things people have said about my story. So if you are one of the people who have been sending me these private anonymous messages, please, I beg you, stop! As someone who suffers from a Depression Mental Health disorder, this is really starting to affect me. I'm probably going to take a couple of days away from this site and I pray that when I get back, my inbox isn't full with insensitive hate comments. Please just think for a moment on how these comments affect me as a person. How they all pile up and start to sting. This evening, after I got the latest message, I had an actual mental breakdown. This shit that takes u like 3 seconds to type and send stays with me for a long time, and it weighs on my mind a lot.**

**I beg you, please stop! You can stop reading my story at any time and I won't be offended. And if you have constructive criticism OF THE STORY AND NOT OF ME AS A PERSON, I would love to hear it. But enough with the hate! It's too far!**


	30. Chapter 30

_**CHAPTER 30** _

**Quick A.N…**

**So I decided I'm going to continue this story. I've taken the past couple of days away to deal with all of the hate shit and I'm ready to get back into it! Please I ask again… you are more than welcome to criticise the story, but don't personally attack me. None of you have ever met me, none of you know me, so what gives you the fucking right to come at me with words like "cunt", "gay shit", "pussy"? You have a lot of nerve calling me a pussy and a coward when you are the one sending me ANONYMOUS private messages and then don't reply when I reply to your messages and want to have an honest convo!**

**Anyways, I really can't be bothered to get into it again. Let's just start the chapter…**

Twelve hours later, Miguel got off the plane in San Diego Airport, his mind an absolute mess. He was still processing the events of 48 hours ago. The attack on the embassy had sent shockwaves through the entire country. Many were naming it the worst attack on the United States since 9/11 and Haissam Haqqani had quickly risen to the level of notoriety that Osama Bin Laden had gained. The public were terrified. Although the attack before had been on the U.S Embassy in Pakistan, the public were petrified of a follow-up attack, but this one in the country itself. There hadn't been this much unsettledness amongst the public since the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

As Miguel stepped out of the airplane, he closed his eyes and he took a deep breath. He knew a MASSIVE fight was coming, possibly ending in a break up, and he had pretty much come to terms with that fact. He couldn't keep stringing Sam along in whatever pitiful relationship they had at this point. She didn't deserve that. She deserved an actual relationship. Miguel finally realised why 90% of SEAL marriages ended in divorce, let alone boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. He hated himself for what he was about to do, but he knew that for the sake of the 40 Americans who had been killed in the Embassy attack, he had to do it.

Sam stood nervously by the entrance of the airport. She had been awake for the past 48 hours, reading everything she could read about what went down in the embassy. Although there wasn't that much news released to the public yet, there was enough for Sam to realise that Miguel was lucky to have escaped the experience with his life, and there was no telling how emotionally damaged he was from it.

Miguel heaved his duffel bag over his shoulder and slowly trudged towards the exit. As he walked out into the Arrivals section of the airport, he saw Sam standing at the back, and he immediately felt another stab of guilt. The stress and worry on her face was visible from all the way on the other side of the room. He couldn't believe what he had put her through during their relationship. He should've ended it and set her free long ago. Miguel took a deep breath. He needed to do it now. Rip off the bandaid as it were.

As Miguel walked over to her, Sam spotted him and her eyes lit up. A lot of the worry that she was feeling quashed when she finally saw Miguel, alive and in one piece, walking towards her. At that moment, her internal battle between Miguel and Robby instantly ended. There was no competition. What she had with Miguel was way better than what she had with Robby, and now that Miguel would permanently be in the country, they could finally have their happy ending.

Miguel finally made it over to Sam, and he nodded at her.

"Hi, Sam." Miguel murmured, quietly. He took a deep breath. He needed to end things with her now. Like right now. As soon as possible. But before Miguel could say anything, Sam threw her arms around him, hugging him excruciatingly tightly.

"Oh, my God! I'm so glad you're okay!" Sam whispered. Miguel slowly returned the embrace, and he bit his tongue. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't just dump her in the middle of the airport. That was so rude! She deserved way more than that. He needed to do it respectfully. Like in a restaurant or at home or something.

Miguel and Sam left the airport together and Miguel was deep in thought on the drive home, not saying anything. He hadn't been home in 4 months and this city… it seemed foreign to him. He felt more at home in war zones like Afghanistan than he did in San Diego. He side glanced at Sam, who had a massive smile on her face, and another stab of guilt ran through him. When they got home, he had to do it, once and for all.

They made it to their apartment around 15 minutes later, and Miguel slowly got out of the car. It felt like a century ago the last time he had been here. So much had happened in the 4 months he had been away. Miguel unlocked the door and walked into the apartment for the first time and ages and turned on the lights. Again, the bright living room before him didn't feel like home. It felt like it was someone else's. Miguel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was time. Miguel turned around to face Sam, who had just entered the room too.

"Hey, Sam. Um… we need to…" Once again, Miguel was interrupted by his girlfriend, this time because she lunged at him, pulling him into an extremely passionate kiss. They made out for several moments before they finally broke apart for air. "Talk." Miguel finished. Sam shook her head urgently.

"Talk later. It's been 4 months!" Sam murmured, kissing him again and pushing him towards their bedroom. Miguel couldn't help but comply, his thoughts about breaking up temporarily shifted into the back of his mind as him and his girlfriend crashed onto their bed together…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Oh my God. That was amazing!" Sam exclaimed a couple of hours later when they were completely worn out, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Yeah… yeah it was." Miguel murmured, also struggling to catch his breath. After not being with each other for 4 months, they had just had an AMAZING time. Sam turned slightly on their bed to face him.

"Hey, you wanted to talk about something, right? What's up?" Sam asked, resting her head on Miguel's chest and closing her eyes, feeling completely at peace as she felt Miguel's chest gently rise and fall. Miguel's heart dropped. His temporary feeling of euphoria was gone. The news had completely slipped his mind.

Miguel took a deep breath. He needed to do it now.

"Yeah, um… there's no easy way to say this, Sam, but um… um… I um…"

"Jesus, spit it out, Miguel!" Sam laughed, curious now as to what Miguel had to say.

"Sam, I'm leaving next week to Afghanistan." Miguel murmured. Sam laughed as she brushed hair out of her eyes. She assumed he was joking.

"Yeah, right. And I'm going to Paris tomorrow too, right?" Sam remarked back. Miguel didn't laugh though. He didn't even smile. His expression was stony serious, and Sam's heart stopped when she realised he might actually be serious.

"Sam, I'm not joking." Miguel said, quietly. "I've got a mission lined up in Afghanistan: to take out the people who did that shit in the Embassy a couple of days ago."

"Wait… you're serious?!" Sam exclaimed, shooting up on the bed, her state of relaxation and calmness vanished. Miguel slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I am." Miguel whispered.

"Well, what… what… how long are you going to be gone for?" Sam stammered, struggling to comprehend the bombshell Miguel had just dropped. Miguel sighed. This was the worst part.

"I don't know." He replied. "Could be a month. Could be a year. However long it takes to get justice for the 40 Americans who were slaughtered in the embassy."

"Miguel, you… you… you can't do this!" Sam exclaimed. "I thought you were going to be stationed here finally. I thought we were finally going to be able to start our lives together."

"Well, that was the plan, but things changed really quickly, and I have to go do this first."

Sam shook her head, furiously. Now that she had fully comprehended the magnitude of what Miguel was telling her, her shock had turned to plain rage.

"No, you didn't _have_ to do anything! You got a choice! You always get a fucking choice and you CHOOSE to leave for these insane missions!"

"Look, Sam, what did you want me to do?" Miguel snapped.

"Seriously? It's not obvious to you? SAY NO! Tell them that your girlfriend and the rest of your life is more important than these shitty missions you're sent on!"

"I can't do that, Sam." Miguel whispered.

"WHY?! WHY NOT?!" Sam shouted. "It's so easy! Just walk into your boss's office and tell him to fuck off!"

"Sam, you don't get it." Miguel growled. "I had the flag of the fucking Taliban waving over my head. I watched a female desk jockey even younger than you have her head dissipated right off her shoulders and there wasn't a damn thing I could've done to save her! 40 Americans dead! 40 families ripped to pieces! I think about how I would react if my mom, or Johnny, or you were in that position… I can't even stand that thought, but 40 families across the country are dealing with exactly that! I need to get justice for them, and their deceased family members!"

"No… no, you don't." Sam whispered, tears springing to her eyes. "Not everything has to come down to you, Miguel. You don't have to be the hero every single time. There are 400 thousand people in the Navy who could do exactly what you do. Why do you have to be the one every time?!"

"Because that's the deal I made when I joined the Navy. That's what the enlistment entails. You just don't say no. You eat, sleep and shit where they tell you. You can be transferred around the world in a matter of hours if that's what's needed. Look, I know this isn't ideal…"

"No, really? It's not ideal?!" Sam snapped, sarcastically. "Miguel, neither of us are young anymore! We're 28! Women don't have the luxury of waiting until they're 40 to have kids!"

Miguel nodded.

"I know that, Sam, which is why I think it would probably be best for us to finally both go our separate ways." Miguel murmured. "No point in delaying the inevitable any longer."

Sam's eyes widened.

"What… like break up?" She stammered. Miguel, who now also had a few loose tears in his eyes, nodded.

"I mean, yeah. We both clearly want such different things. I can't ask you to just wait around on me year after year, mission after mission. I know how much you want to be a mom. You're going to be a great mom. I can't take that away from you."

Sam took a deep, calming breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. She then turned to her boyfriend and saw the melancholy in his eyes. That's when she realised… this was really happening. This wasn't a nightmare. This wasn't a sick joke. This was genuinely reality.

"Miguel, can I ask you something?" Sam asked. Miguel nodded.

"Sure, what?"

"What do you love more: me or your job?" Sam asked, bluntly. Miguel was taken aback, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Um… what? What kind of a question is that?" Miguel remarked, laughing slightly.

"I'm serious. Me or your job… what do you love more?" Sam repeated. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, obviously you! You're the single most important person in my life."

"See, you say that, but then you keep running away on these crazy missions. I mean, we haven't even spent more than 4 continuous months together in our 2 year relationship! And it makes me wonder…" Sam's voice trailed off. Miguel looked at his girlfriend and gently held her hands in his.

"Sam, I never knew I could love someone and care about someone so much until I met you. I love you more than I could've ever imagined. You turned my life upside down, and I'm always going to remember you for that. But I also know you well enough to know that me and my job are holding you back from achieving your dreams and your aspirations in life. You're always talking about that white picket fence, the porch swing, the husband, the kids. I hoped to God that I could've been that person but I realise now… I just can't. And knowing that I'm dragging you back from achieving those dreams… it just kills me."

Miguel took a deep, shaky breath and he stood up before continuing…

"Look, there's no need for this to be a toxic breakup, right? I'll have my stuff out by the time I leave."

Sam shrugged.

"Keep your stuff here for as long as you need. I'm not going to throw them out, don't worry."

"Thanks." Miguel murmured, and he started to walk out the door. Just before he walked out of the apartment, he turned back to his girlfriend - well, now ex-girlfriend. "Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam whispered, her eyes closed, hoping that maybe shutting her eyes would make the whole thing a little less real and make it hurt a little less.

"I love you." Miguel said.

"I love you too." Sam replied. With that, Miguel unlocked the door and stepped out of his apartment for the final time…


	31. Chapter 31

As Miguel walked out of the apartment, he grabbed his still packed duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder and walking out. Once he was outside, Miguel slid to the ground in front of the apartment and he put his head in his hands. His heart was struggling to catch up to where his mind was, and he was only now starting to truly feel the blinding pain of what had just happened. He had just ruined the best thing to ever happen to him, and for what? For a job that he could only do for another 7 years before he had to retire? A job that had prevented him from seeing his loved ones for so long. How could he let things get this fucked up? He shouldn't have re-enlisted after his 3 year tour. He should've just pulled out and lived a normal life. He had let the military suck him in like a blackhole, and now he was slowly but surely being ripped apart.

Tears quickly streamed thick and fast down his face as Miguel broke down on the sidewalk. Eventually, when his eyes were completely raw from crying, Miguel stumbled to his feet and clambered into a cab.

"Where to?" The cab driver asked. Miguel was rendered speechless for a moment. Where was he supposed to go now? He was no longer living at his and Sam's apartment, so where could he go? He couldn't go live on base for 2 weeks before flying out to Afghanistan. He didn't want to. He was so fucking done with the Navy, and all of the shit that it put him through for a measly paycheck and a crapload of PTSD.

Miguel eventually gathered his thoughts and asked the driver to take him to the roughest dive bar in the city. These places are where Miguel felt most at home. Among other massive brutes and the most monstrous people in the city. They made it moments later, and mIguel walked in. The strong stench of cheap beer, cheap cologne and cheap cigarettes immediately filled Miguel's nostrils, and he gagged slightly at the sudden change from the clear air outside.

Miguel walked over to the bar and sat down, before ordering shot after shot of alcohol, ignoring the loud noises around him. The bar was packed with people, and they were all either playing pool at the back of the room or watching Football in the front. Miguel took no heed of them though, sitting at the far corner of the bar with several shots of whiskey. He poured the first small vial of liquid down his throat, relishing the burn that it created as it slowly slithered from his lips to his stomach. As he downed two more shots, he started to feel his brain slowing down, his hatred towards the Navy starting to numb. As he closed his eyes, he felt his brain dragged back in time 11 years, to some of the lowest moments of his entire life…

" _Have a great day, Miggy!" Carmen exclaimed as 18 year old Miguel slowly got out of the car and walked into West Valley High. It was the last week of April, so Miguel had just over two more months of high school before he finally graduated and got out of this place. 4 years. 4 years of him being beaten up, made fun of and bullied by the rich, popular kids. But it was almost over and soon, he could walk out of those gates and never come back._

_Miguel's thoughts were interrupted when he saw his two best friends Demitri and Eli walk up to him. Miguel smiled faintly at them._

_"Hey." Eli nodded at him._

_"Hey guys." Miguel replied. "How were your weekends?"_

" _Good. Yours?" Demitri replied._

" _Fine." Miguel grunted as they started heading towards class. However, before he could make it two steps, Miguel was roughly slammed into a locker and he slid to the ground. Miguel groaned in pain and looked up to see Kyler, Brucks and his group of popular bully friends staring down at him and cackling gleefully._

" _Sup, 'Rhea." Kyler grinned as Miguel slowly stumbled to his feet. Kyler and his gang then turned around and started to walk away. Miguel dusted off his back and arms and clutched his elbow. He had hit the locker HARD and his elbow was throbbing. He winced._

_"2 months, man." Miguel grumbled to his friends as they continued walking to class. "Two months and I never have to see that dickhead again."_

_At that moment, Miguel and his friends turned the corner and found themselves face to face once again with Kyler and his gang. Kyler's group smirked at them and raised an eyebrow. Miguel closed his eyes and hoped to God that Kyler hadn't heard what he had just said. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky._

" _Now, now, I hope you weren't talking about me." Kyler remarked. Miguel took a deep breath and sighed, clenched his jaw and tensing up, preparing for what was inevitably about to happen. Sure enough, Miguel was roughly kicked into an empty classroom, where Kyler and his buddy closed the door and drew the blinds shut, before proceeding to beat the crap out of him._

_THUD! THUD! THUD!  
_

_Miguel softly cried out in pain as Kyler's friends held Miguel's arms back and Kyler rained punch after punch at Miguel's stomach. They didn't go for the head as a bruise there would be obvious to teachers, but the beatdown was still just as bad for Miguel, and it lasted for several minutes before Kyler and his buddies left._

_"Remember 'Rhea… you snitch, and this all gets a whole lot worse." Kyler threatened, before walking out of the room._

_Lying on the ground, Miguel slowly pulled himself to his feet. His ribs were in excruciating pain, but it was nothing compared to the searing, blinding pain he felt to his pride. His whole life, Miguel had been walked over by every bully he had ever known, too emotionally and physically weak to stand up for himself. That had to change. If he continued on this path of running away or submitting to hostile people, he would never gain the confidence needed to live a good life. But how could he change this? What could he possibly do? Suddenly, the answer came to him… the U.S Navy brochure that a recruiter had handed out to everyone at school the day before burned a hole into his sweatshirt pocket…_

There it was. The stupid move that started the series of crappy events in his life. If only he hadn't joined the Navy… he could've found another way to gain strength and confidence, and he wouldn't have had to make all of the sacrifices he had made for the sake of the military. He wouldn't have had to watch all of his brothers die either overseas or back home to their internal demons.

Miguel poured another two shots down his throat without even stopping to think, and he found his brain getting less and less responsive. He was soon not strong enough to keep himself in the present, and found himself being pulled right back into another flashback…

" _Okay, mom, yaya, please sit down. We need to talk." Miguel said, seating his mom and yaya in the living room. There was one month until school ended, and Miguel had finally finalised his future. He just needed to do the hardest step: telling his mom what he had decided._

" _What's up, Miggy?" Carmen asked, curiously. Miguel seemed pretty nervous when he told them that he needed to talk to them earlier, and he was very cryptic about what it was about. Miguel took a deep breath. This was it. He was about to tell them about the Navy._

" _So, I want to talk to you guys about my future." Miguel said._

" _Sure. But I thought you were going to community college next year while we save enough for you to be able to go to college after. Carmen remarked. Miguel shook his head._

_"No, I'm… I'm not going to do that." He replied. "So… as you guys know, I don't have the money for actual college, and I've tried and I've tried but an academic scholarship just isn't happening. Going to community college is basically just resigning myself to become a minimum-wage earning Latino plumber or handyman for the rest of my life. I'm not going to let that happen. I need to make a future to myself. So I've been speaking to a recruiter for the past month."_

_"A recruiter?" Carmen asked, confused. "You're trying to get a sports scholarship?"_

_Miguel laughed._

_"Yeah, cause I'm the next LeBron James, right?" Miguel joked. "No, not a college sports recruiter, mom. I've been talking to a recruiter for the Navy and I've decided to enlist."_

_Carmen was stunned speechless. She turned a ghastly white as all of the color left her face._

_"Say something Mom." Miguel asked as Carmen was silent for several moments._

_"You can't be serious." A stunned Carmen finally managed to say. "You could be deployed to God knows where and forced to fight! Have you seriously thought this through?!"_

_"But Mom, lots of guys go into the military and come home without a scratch. The Navy will help pay for college after two years. Everyone's going to college but me. I'm not going to be stuck in Reseda for the rest of my life. This is something I have to do." Miguel pleaded with his mother._

" _Miguel, you could get killed!" Carmen exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes._

_"Mom, I could get hit by a bus in downtown L.A tomorrow." Miguel shot back._

" _Miggy, you're the most important person in the world to me. I can't lose you. You can apply to other colleges. You can apply for grants, scholarships, and college loans."_

_"Look, mom, it's not just about money. I need to do this for me. My whole life, I let myself get walked over by anyone. I haven't stood up for myself. I need to show the bad people in this world, and I need to show myself that I'm not afraid. I need to become a man. Look, I'm doing this with or without your support but I would really appreciate it if you guys were on board. Both of you"  
_

_There was a long silence, where Carmen and Miguel's yaya seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other with their eyes._

_"Well, Miguelito, I'm so proud of you. I fully support you." Miguel's yaya eventually replied, hugging her grandson tightly and kissing him on the cheek. Miguel smiled at his grandma and then slowly turned to his mom, who had an unreadable expression on her face._

" _Mom?" Miguel asked, nervously. He could feel his heart pounding as he waited for what seemed like an eternity. Carmen's mind was spinning in so many different ways. She felt like someone had just stabbed a dagger through her chest. She couldn't believe her baby was going into the military. She felt to blame. Had she not done enough as a mother? Sure they didn't have that much money, but Carmen tried as best as she could to make up for it in other ways. Had that all not been enough? I mean, her son didn't just want to leave home, but he'd rather be on the other side of the world getting shot at by the most vile people humanity has to offer than stay home._

_Carmen took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, before turning to Miguel, scowling._

" _Look, Miguel, if you're asking me to support this… I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't condone my only child getting himself killed fighting some stupid war in this Middle East."_

_Miguel's heart shattered. He figured that his mom would be the same supportive person she had been throughout his life, but he realised that he was wrong. He held in all emotion and clenched his jaw._

_"Fine, then I do it without you." Miguel spat. Carmen put her head in her hands and ran out the room…_

Damn. If only Carmen had stuck by her word and didn't support him and didn't come around by the time he left for training like she did, maybe Miguel's time in the Navy could have actually stopped after 2 years. Maybe he wouldn't end up spending 10 years doing a job that fucked up every other part of his life that he cared about. Maybe he would be home for longer than 30 days a year He knew how stupid his mind sounded, wishing that his mom didn't support him, but his drunk, wandering mind couldn't help but think. His life could've been SO different if one or two things played out differently. Maybe he could still be with Sam.

Sam… even just thinking about her caused an immense pain to Miguel's gut, a pain that could only be quenched with two more shots of alcohol. As the liquor made its way into his bloodstream, Miguel felt his brain slip more and more away, and his vision started to slightly blur. As he downed yet another small glass of whiskey, Miguel realised something… he truly had sold his soul to the U.S military. He had sacrificed his relationship with his girlfriend, sacrificed his relationship with his family, basically sacrificed having any sort of life outside of his job. He never got time off, he never lived anywhere long enough to form meaningful bonds with the people around him. He was a slave, a military prostitute who was forced to do anything the Navy told him to do, for a frighteningly little pay. He needed to get out of the Navy. NOW!

However, before his body could catch up with his mind, Miguel closed his eyes and was immediately dragged back, despite his mind's protests, to the gruesome attack on the U.S Embassy…

" _What's going on?" The Marine whispered to Miguel. He was behind Miguel as the SEAL peaked out, so he couldn't see what was going on._

" _They're at the door to the bunker." Miguel replied. "Three hostages are down. Haqqani has a knife to the throat of the fourth."_

" _What do we do?" The Marine asked._

" _Well, they managed to cut through the embassy easily, so chances are they got this place mapped out. They knew about the secret back entrance and the vault, right?"_

" _Right." The Marine nodded._

" _That means they know about the emergency stairwell at the back of the ambassador's office." Miguel continued._

" _What are you thinking?" The Marine asked._

" _I say we chase them towards the exit." Miguel murmured._

" _There's only two of us!"_

" _This is a surgical strike for them, it's not a suicide mission. They're just here to get the list. They'd rather run than engage in firefight."_

" _You sure?" The Private asked. Miguel looked at the terrified Private right in the eye and sighed._

" _No." Miguel replied, honestly._

_At that moment, the assistant director of the CIA finally finished unlocking the vault and he stepped out, facing the terrorist. Miguel's eyes widened when he saw this._

" _Shit." He whispered as he watched the assistant director hand the list to Haqqani's right-hand-man._

" _Here. Now let her go." The assistant director begged. Haqqani nodded and murmured something in his native language into the young girl's ear. But rather than letting her go, Haqqani slashed his knife right through her neck…_

NO! Miguel roughly pulled his mind out of the flashback, slamming his head against the table multiple times in his drunken state, gathering various glares from around the bar. But Miguel didn't notice. He was in his own world. Miguel put his head in his hands and tears threatened to spill over his cheeks once again. How did his life get so fucked up? On one hand, he knew that he needed to get justice for all those who were killed on the day of the attack, but on the other, he knew that if he went through with the mission, he would be pulled even deeper into the grave that he was digging for himself with every passing day he spent in the Navy.

Eventually, Miguel came to a decision… he would complete the upcoming mission, but after that, when his enlistment ends, he was getting the hell out of the Navy…


End file.
